Who wants a VK one shot?
by Hoehomi-Chan
Summary: Who wants a ONE SHOT, written especially for them? Review and tell me what you want! Read for further info. ACCEPTING REQUESTS- THEY WILL BE WRITTEN!
1. Form to Fill in

**WHO WANTS A VAMPIRE KNIGHT ONE SHOT?**

I'll be writing a oneshot made especially for YOU. Just review and tell me what you want, who you want in it, etc. By the way, I am NOT doing Yaoi or Yuri, because I don't like it. Sorry. :( But I will write anything else: romance, action, fights, family (pregnancy), WG (weight gain if you REALLY want... -.-") or whatever. I SHALL DO ANYTHING...!

OCs do NOT have to be involved. I can write one shots about characters already in the series.

Fill in the form below:

**Characters:**

**Basic plot:**

**An OC? {Not necessary}: hair: eyes: height: likes: dislikes: (Additional info): Personality:  
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**If OC involved, how do they feel towards the rest of the characters and vice versa? KANAME: YUKI: ZERO: ETC ETC**

I'll be onto your requests ASAP!


	2. One Shot for Ninja Kat Is Stalking You

**This is for Ninja Kat is Stalking you. Hope you like it!**

* * *

><p>I was eight when it happened.<p>

The still, spring evening, teeming with new life, the light subtle green leaves quivering, pleased to be out of those cramped buds. The wind whispered through the trees. Quietly.

And then an ear shattering scream rose from nearby. From a house.

A house.

Our house.

My mother screamed as the window was smashed open, and a figure leapt in. He whipped out and caught my younger brother, Tora by his collar. My father came dashing in, with me in tow. He tried to wrench my brother from the stranger's grip. The figure simply lashed out and hit my father in the mouth, causing him to topple backwards, and crash into the kitchen units.

"Souta...!" My mother screamed, as he sat up groggily, his bottom lip bleeding.

"What the hell..." He began, then froze, we all did. There was an eerie silence in the kitchen, except for my brother's quiet sobs of fright.

We all realised what had happened.

The figure's eyes were blood red.

A vampire.

A level E, I found out later.

We were helpless as we watched the vampire bring Tora's neck to his lips. With a mocking glance he sank his teeth into his flesh...

"NO...!" I screamed, dashing to save my younger brother from the beast before us.

I was a fool. I was hurled back with brute strength. I crumpled in a heap beside my terrified parents, feeling a burning pain in my forehead, and something warm and wet trickle through my scalp.

My father went in to save Tora next. But he...

The vampire dropped Tora, whose skin was now a dull grey, and little pink puckers on his neck. He was groaning, ever so, ever so softly. And then he was silent. Ignoring my now dead brother, the level E lunged at my dad, literally ripping him in two. My mother and I both screamed in horror as flecks of blood speckled our faces and clothing.

"Tora, no, Tora, NO!" My mother screeched, sobbing wildly now, and clutching me close to her chest. "And Souta... Souta, Souta, Souta...!"

The vampire ignored her, and ripped her from my grasp, just to sink his fangs in her too...

"Kuro, run," She had begged through tears. "Run sweetheart! Run!"

I couldn't. I was glued to the floor. All I could do was scream. And scream.

I was only eight. And my family had just been murdered in front of me. Of course I would scream.

My mother dropped, looking like Tora, grey, moaning, then still and silent. The level E approached, his face flecked with our blood, his eyes still that beastly red...

I don't blame him for biting me.

He was a mad, crazy vampire, who had gone insane for blood.

He needed what I had.

He held me between his knees and visciously bit the nape of my neck so I couldn't pull away. It was the worst type of pain. The worst ever. There's still a scar now, even all these years later.

I could've died. I probably would've, it it hadn't have been for the hunters.

There was a deafening crack, and the vampire behind me screamed in agony. I felt his grip loosen, and then felt nothing as he melted into dust.

I collapsed to the floor, right on top of my mother, shaking with sobs of fury, sadness, regret...

People came to me and tried to pick me up, carry me away, but I wouldn't move. I wouldn't. I couldn't, either- not since my family had been killed there, right that second...

I must have laid there for half an hour.

A warm hand was suddenly clamped onto my shoulder.

"Are you alright, little girl?" A soft voice asked.

I blinked and looked up. A pair of dusty golden eyes gazed into mine. He waited for my answer.

"..." I didn't give him one.

"What's your name?" This was easier.

"K-Kuro," I sniffed. I wiped my nose with the corner of my sleeve. "Kuro Kuromi,"

"Kuro," He breathed, smiling. He gestured to the remains of my family, who were being packed into body bags by the other hunters. "Is this your family?"

I nodded, and a couple more tears slid down my face. I couldn't bear to see them... So... So... dead...

"I'm so sorry," The hand patted my shoulder gently. "My name's Kaien," He smiled at me, cupping my chin with his hand so I would look at him. "I'm not really part of the hunter society, but I heard their was a child involved so..."

"K-Kaien?" I repeated. He nodded.

"I'll explain later," Kaien replied. He took my hand and carefully pulled me up. "Come with me, OK?"

"Kuromi! Kuromi...! I will NOT ask you again!"

My eyes fluttered open to my last name being yelled down my ear hole. I looked up, and immediatly sweatdropped. Sensei loomed over me, his face contorted with fury, a small vein pulsing on his forehead.

"YOU...!" He pointed an accusing finger at me. "Are as bad as THOSE two!" The finger swept across the room untill it gestured to a sleeping Yuki and Zero.

I sighed, must to Sensei's annoyance, and twitched the disciplinary committee armband on my shoulder.

"Well, I AM a Committee member too," I yawned languidly.

"Do NOT take that insolent tone with me!" Sensei barked. The finger was back on me again. I supressed a smirk as the class sniggered around us. "Supplememntary classes for you three!"

Yuki's head snapped up at the words 'Supplemenatry classes' and gazed blearily at the teacher, as if she hadn't registered what he had said. I watched as her friend next to her- Yori, I think she was called- spoke sharply. Yuki blinked a little, before nodding furiously, and sitting to attention. Soon, however, she was slumped again, and dozing.

With a small smile pricking my lips, I delved in my bag and retrieved a manga. It was the only thing I could read from beginning to end without falling asleep. I flipped to the third chapter and began to read, the book cleverly (!) concealed by the desk.

I had the window desk so I was by myself. I liked it. It was in a quiet corner and had the light from the window flooding in. I smiled, glancing up from my book to see Yuki had woken up again and was smiling at me. I smiled back and jerked a thumb at Sensei when his back was turned, rolling my eyes. Yuki stifled a giggle which made me smile. Even more daring now, I stuck up my middle finger at the unaware teacher, which made Yuki collapse in peals of muffled laughter.

"Cross!" Sensei barked. I quickly put my finger down. "Quiet!"

"S-Sorry, Sensei," Yuki gasped, glancing at me one last time. I breathed a sigh of releif.

The Headmaster adopted me, as he had done with Yuki. She was seven when I arrived. She was so sweet. So kind. The only one who truly understood my pain, the utter agony of loosing my family to a ferocious beast...

Well, sort of. She knew the terrifying feeling when you knew you were about to die. We became best friends. She was like a sister to me. Obviously, we don't share a room any more like we used to (Yuki had a room in the Sun Dorms with Yori, but I stayed in the Headmaster's residence because I wasn't too socialable), but during the holidays we would room up together for company.

I said she was the only one who understood my pain. She was for a while- untill the year I was thirteen...

Zero. Zero Kiryu, the boy who's family was killed by a pureblood. It was the oposite to me- family killed by a Level E. But we understood each other. I had lost my parents and my brother, just like him. We were... Connected, some how.

Yuki immediatly took Zero under her wing once she saw his suffering. One of his first nights at Cross Academy she went and stayed with him untill he was asleep. She failed to notice I was lurking in the corridor when she left. I waited for a while, before stepping up to the door and knocking softly.

"Yuki, what now...?" Was the reply I got. His voice was gruff.

"I'm not Yuki, stupid," I replied, walking in anyway. He sat up and peered at me over the top of his bed covers. He frowned.

"Oh. You're... Kuso?"

"Kuro," I corrrected. "Kuro Kuromi,"

There was an awkward pause.

"What do you want?" Zero finally asked.

"Nothing much."

"So go away." He flipped back under the covers. I sighed irratibly, and folded my arms across my chest. Storming over to the bed, I twitched the duvet back to reveal his face.

"I just wanted to say!" I began harshly. He glared at me with those grey-lilac eyes. I softened my tone before continuing. "I just wanted to tell you, I know how you feel,"

"Like you know the feeling of watching your family being killed by a vampire," He mumbled fiercly. That was it.

"I do know the feeling!" I hissed, screaming under my breath so it came out as a ferocious whisper. "I was eight, and a Level E randomly smashed the windows and killed my family! I watched it all! I watched that beast drink my little brother's blood! I watched my father ripped in half! I watched it all, my mother telling me to run, and then dying, and then that creature drinking from me... It... It hurt... It hurt so much. It hurt inside," I let a couple of tears slip down my cheek. I glanced up at Zero's slightly surprised and shocked expression.

"I... I didn't know," He said softly, if a little awkwardly.

"I know the same thing happened to you," I sniffed, wiping my eyes with the cuff of my sleeve. "And I just want to say... I... Hope you'll be OK," I ducked my head and rushed out of the room, leaving Zero stunned.

"I swear, I'll kill them all one of these days," I silently ground my teeth. Zero looked down at me, amused.

"I know the feeling," He replied, and I looked up and grinned.

"I know, right? I could seriously rip all of these damn fan girl's heads off,"

Zero chuckled before glaring behind him at a couple of Kaname-lovers tried to sneak past him.

"Step back please! It's past curfew! HEY ! You can't just take a photo!" Yuki was contiually yelling to the oncoming crowd. She sure was eager, I mused, while me and Zero simply stood on the sidelines and stepped in if things got ugly.

"Aw, hell-o, Kuro-Chan!" I felt a vein pulse in my forehead at Aido's voice.

"Piss off," I muttered as he approached me, swinging his arms happily. He reached me and continued to grin childishly.

"Now, now, Kuro-Chan, no need to be so hasty," He simply said. His fingers danced over to me and tickled under my chin. "You smell so good..."

"QUIT IT!" I screeched, and lashed out wildly. My fist connected with his stomach, and, for some reason sent him sprawling. I looked on, surprised. I knew I was strong, but to floor a vampire...

"Hey!" Aido was cross now. "How dare you! You-"

"Night Class has started, idiot," Zero stepped in. The blonde vampire glared at me one last time, before flouncing off to his cousin, Kain who was waiting for him near the school. Zero put a hand on my shoulder.

"Nice move, kiddo," He said.

"I'm the same age as you!" I replied, outraged. We both chuckled before going our sperate ways for patrol.

I guess I've always liked Zero. Ever since that night we properly talked togther, he was different... Even talking to me at length when the Headmaster or Yuki weren't with us. Like I said, we knew how we felt. I liked talking to him. He really understood my pain, as I did with his, and when I couldn't control the tears, I would creep into his room and he would 'comfort' me. Well, it was really talking about our past, and some how it made me feel better.

Now, I walked through campus in the cool night air, utterly alone. I enjoyed midnight walks. It was quiet and I could think.

Mainly about Zero.

Zero. Zero. My heart thumps wildly at his every move.

What is this feeling? Regret? Like? Love...?

It was love. I knew it. Love. I loved him. I might have laughed with him earlier, as casual as child hood friends, but inside...

I didn't know how to explain it. I stopped by the fountain and sat on the brim of the huge stone basin. I couldn't tell him how I felt. It was so obvious he only had eyes for Yuki. The way he was so over protective of her, especially when the pureblood, Kaname was around, and the way he was always with her...

I sighed, then gnawed on my knuckle ferociously. Should I tell him though? Just a quick, 'Hey, Zero, I finally realised I have feelings for you, I know it's kinda weird, but you don't have to return my feelings, I know you like Yuki,' and then run off...? He would think I was a nutter.

Plus he was a vampire.

He had never told me, but I figured it out. Especially since the Headmaster had pointed out he was attacked by a pureblood and was also bitten. I stayed quiet, though, because I knew he hated vampires. I was like him. I hated them too.

I hated them all except for him.

Perhaps... He only used Yuki as an alibi? Just to hide his real feelings for me? Just to...

"God, I'm such a dreamer," I muttered through my fist, lowering it and cradling it with my other hand. There was a ring of purple tooth marks on my knuckles.

"Kuro?"

I jumped and whirled around, my hand whipping out for my artemis rod- exactly the same as Yuki's, except mine was a sleek polished black. But it was... Oh God. Zero.

"Hey," He said, raising one hand and cocking it in acknowledgment.

"H-hey," I replied, too forcefully. My tone came out high pitched and squeaky like a five year old's.

Zero frowned and stopped walking.

"What?"

"Nothing," I simply said, turning around and splashing some cold water on my face. "Patrol gone OK?"

"Not bad... Just normal," I could detect a hint in his voice. I wasn't sure what. I sighed heavily.

"Kuro, what's going on?" I jumped wildly at the sound of his rapidly approaching foot steps. Soon he was right infront of me. My heart thumped wildly, battering against my chest so hard I was surprised he couldn't see it. He gazed at me in confusion.

"Zero... I... Um..." In spite of myself I rolled my eyes. Zero saw and chuckled softly. "Oh God, this is gonna sound so lame..."

"I don't care," Zero said softly. I looked away, feeling a fierce blush attack my face.

"Zero... I need to tell you something..."

"Yeah?" Zero was looking at me now, interested, his grey orbs almost sparkling in anticipation.

"Well... I... Zero... I... I..." I slapped my self on the head and silently cursed for being so lame. Unable to bear it any more, I threw my arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Zero, I love you...!"

"What...?"

"I... I just recently realised... That I have feelings for you! I really, really love you!"

"Kuro... Love?" Zero repeated. His arms awkwardly snaked round my back. He... was hugging me back...? I held my breath.

"Love," I confirmed.

"Love," Zero said again. I felt my heart drop like a stone. Were we just going to repeat the word over and over again? "I... Love, huh."

"Zero...?" I looked up into his eyes. He stared down at me. "You don't have to return my feelings,"

"Well... That's funny, because... Dammit, Kuro, I can't hide it any longer. I like you too!" I couldn't beleive what I was hearing. "I've always liked you. Ever since you told me what happened to your family. I somehow felt... Connected to you, you know? Man, this is lame."

"Aren't love confessions supposed to be lame?" I teased.

"Why not?" Zero smiled and we embraced for a little longer.

"Um, Zero?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to..." Before I could get the words out, his lips were against mine. My heart fluttered and flew. I waited a moment before opening my mouth to his tongue. It licked over mine- it was warm and wet, but didn't make me want to heave. He explored my mouth throughly before letting my tongue take dominance. I pushed it into his mouth and tactfully licked past his fangs, though their edges pressed against my tongue uncomfaratbly.

We broke apart for air and gazed into each others orbs, breathless.

"Zero... I know you're a vampire," I confessed. I felt him stiffen.

"And...? You don't hate me for it, do you?" His voice was edged in worry. I playfully punched him and laughed.

"No, dummy, not after I told you I love you!" I paused. "But... Please... Zero, drink my blood,"

"But..."

"Zero," I eyed him seriously, scraping my jet black hair off of my neck. "Drink,"

And that first night I had Zero's fangs pressed into my neck was the most blissful of my life.


	3. One Shot for MidnightVampire18

Sara Awayuki's life had always been a hard one.

First there was her engagement to Kaname Kuran- she was sure it would have been the best affair of her life, and one of the most celebrated moments in the vampire history; two purebloods to be married. But no, Yuki Kuran had to be born, didn't she? There was only a couple of months between them, but Sara was the elder and had felt she had had the right to Kaname. Kaname had been her playmate for two months as children, days which she could clearly remember: a handsome three year old with dark hair and shining garnet eyes, and a petite, pale skinned curly-haired two month old pureblood infant. Even though she had been tiny, Sara could recollect it like yesterday. Kaname had been her only friend, and when his sister was born, that was it. She was locked away for her own protection, even as a baby, while her ex-fiance began to care for his new fiance- Yuki.

Sara had always been bitter since learning of this. She had become cold. Icy. She was frozen in ice, a thick, hard covering that was impossible to break. But inside she was just like you or I... Except for the fact her parents had been murdered by another pureblood, and she had been attacked by her most recent fiance: Tamaki Tangiawa. He had brutally tried to kill her- wielding all of his pureblood powers against her, trying to crush her head, aiming for her heart... Blood, oh, there had been so much blood. Her ball gown was reduced to a bloody mass of tangles, her pale skin stained with red, cuts and gashes decorating her arms and legs... Such a wild, horrible night it had been.

And then Kaname came. Kaname had been like a faint memory of nightmare to Sara. He was naught but the symbol of betrayal to her. He had been the one who made her the way she was. Cold. Regal.

But she had been saved. Kaname, despite their past, had rescued her and brought her to Cross Academy.

Now she was shivering, trying to recover from her experience, still bleeding over multiple bandages. She was given her own room in the Moon Dorms, was then cleaned up, bandaged, given a night gown and then left for the night. All of the Night Class Students were (Obviously) attending class then, so the entire Dorm was empty.

Shivering, Sara clasped the covers around her tightly. So much blood... Too much blood... Every wound etched into her porcelin skin itched and burned, so she was constantly twitching, her head was throbbing, her heart pulsing, she didn't know what was real, what was fantasy, what her purpose was, what she should do...

In frustration, Sara jerked upwards and began to rip every bandage off.

"Betrayal!" She spat. "Betrayal! Is that all my life is worth?" Blood began to pour down her body, staining the mattress sheet. Ignoring this, she tore off the remaining wraps, and scratched furiously at the wounds below. She re opened cuts and made other bleed even more. There were tears in her blue eyes; crystals against sapphires. "Betrayal," She repeated. "First Kaname... Now Tangiawa..."

Sara put her chin on her chest and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Is that all I am?" She whispered, the bitterness of her words spreading across her tongue. "An icon for betrayal?"

With a sniff, the pureblood slid out of bed, still bleeding, and padded over to the en suite bathroom on her left. She left a trail of thick, red blood on the navy blue carpet, staining it forever.

Sara peered at her reflection whilist gripping the edge of the sink. Her white blonde hair, still in it's formal ringlets, tumbled past her small, pointed face. There was a cut on her chin which was bleeding profusely, smudged across her face and colouring the lock of hair that fell nearby it. Her neck too was stained red, and pretty much her entire body. The night gown she wore was tainted with deep red. There was a particularly bloody spot on her stomach but she wasn't in the mood for investigating it. Instead, on shaky legs, she stepped out of the bathroom, trembling, leaning on the door frame for support. As soon as she was out of the room, she saw the dimly lit dorm swirl before her. She crumpled onto the carpet in a bloody heap.

Footsteps sounded outside, slow at first, but they then grew more rapid, then at a running pace. Sara didn't move. She didn't want to. She didn't want to...

"Excuse me? Sara-sama?" There was a knock a the door, a soft rap, then this kind, caring voice. The footsteps had stopped. Sara didn't move. "Sara-sama? Are you there? May I enter?" There was a pause, in which Sara simply shivered on the floor and the person at the door shifted anxiously.

"If you must come in, come in, but don't you dare regret it," Sara finally replied in a high, shaky tone. She could distinctly hear the person sigh in releif before opening the door.

Sara didn't look up. She ceased shivering. You couldn't even see her breathing. She was just lying there. One might have mistook her for a corpse.

The person gasped and dropped something onto the floor. There was the sound of rapid footsteps as the person dropped down beside her.

"...Sara-sama?" They asked in a mooth, crisp tone that was quiet and gentle at the same time. Sara didn't respond. "Sara...sama? Are you alright?"

"Considering I have just been attacked and nearly killed within an inch of my life, I'm just dandy," Sara tossed her head backwards and laughed sarcastically. She then saw the face of the boy next to her.

His almond shaped, green eyes stared into hers, pure, honest. Blonde hair, slightly darker than her own, just brushed his shoulders, and his heart shaped face was pale, but in a cute way. You could barely see the tips of his fangs, slightly curved so as to slice into human skin easily. Sara sat up properly and looked at this boy beside her.

He coughed nervously.

"Hello, Sara-sama, I'm Takuma Ichijo." Ichijo held out a hand for her to shake. "It's an honour to meet you,"

"Ichijo," Sara repeated. Even his name was an honest, clear thing. EE-chee-joe. There was something about the way it rolled off the tongue, the way it was comforting to say. "Ichijo..." She took the offered hand with her thumb and finger and bobbed it up and down. Takuma's face broke out into a smile. Sara felt her heart skip a beat. Again, the purity, kindness... Who knew such things existed in a blood thirsty vampire?

"I heard about your family- your parents- and your recent ordeal with your fiance. I'm sorry about that..." Ichijo trailed off as Sara waved a hand dismissively.

"I don't want pity," She said coldly. There was silence for a while.

"Are... Are you thirsty? Do you...want some blood?" Takuma asked slowly, clearly unsure. Sara smirked a little, pleasently amused by the aristocrat.

"Considering I've just bled buckets..."

Ichijo laughed, a clear, proper sound, not the fake high tinkly laughs Sara was used to. This sound came from his heart and rang out, long after he had stopped. He stood up.

"I'll go ask Kaname if there's any Night Class students willing to..."

"No," Sara tugged on his trouser leg, a surprisingly childish move. "I don't drink real blood. Blood tablets will do for me."

"Oh. OK." Ichijo walked out of the room for a moment, leaving Sara sitting in the middle of the floor, looking like a madwoman. Her hair was flying upwards by itself and her blood had dried, leaving her sticky, damp, and stained.

There was a clink as the aristocrat walked back into the room.

"I've got the types of tablet that Kaname takes, and the ones that I use... Which do you prefer?" He asked, re-entering the room. He was clutching one tall wine glass filled with water and two boxes of blood tablets with slightly different patterns on the front. Sara smiled a little, brushing back a lock of hair.

"I'll have a mixture. One of each."

Takuma shot her a look.

"It'll come out pretty strong, won't it?" He inquired.

"Sweeter, actually." Sara corrected him. "Mingling them together to make them overpoweringly strong is a myth."

"Oh." Ichijo sat back down beside her and handed her the glass and blood tablets.

Sara shook each box gently untill one pill tumbled out and plopped into her drink. It immediatly turned a deep blood red. She took a sip, savouring the thick, tainted bitter taste.

Takuma watched her intently.

"Even Kaname's not brave enough to mix tablets." He said, bluntly. Sara chuckled and lowered her glass, aimlessly swirling the liquid around.

"Well, Kaname's always been one for bitter things." Sara almost spat this last part, reminding her of her bitter betrayal... Taking a long, deep breath, she glanced over at the boy beside her. "So how well do you know Kaname?"

"Huh? Pretty well, I suppose..." Takuma admitted. His face suddenly screwed up as he thought. "Hey! How do you know that I know Kaname well?"

Sara giggled at his face. Somehow he made her smile.

"You were calling him just 'Kaname'. You didn't use any honorifices." She explained, sipping at her faux blood again.

"Perhaps I should start calling him Kaname-sama like everyone else..." He said, pulling another face to prove he wasn't serious. He crossed his legs as Sara continued to sip daintily.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He was so cute. Intelligent, bright, playful, cheerful. She liked him.

"Tell me about yourself," Ichijo suddenly said quietly without looking at her. If anyone else had said this to her in such a casual tone, Sara would have been outraged. But somehow she didn't mind Takuma asking. She placed her glass on the floor and stook an inward breath.

"I'll start from the very beginning..."

She practically started from birth untill that very moment. She told him about her engagement to Kaname, her parents being killed, her ex-fiance trying to kill her. All the while Takuma listened, his head on one side, nodding occasionally. The whole story took about an hour to tell.

"Thank you," Sara drew breath after her long speech.

"Hm? Sara-sama? Why are you...?" Takuma asked, baffled.

"Thank you," Sara repeated. She drained her glass and licked away a bead of fake blood that had gathered at the corners of her mouth. "For listening. I appreciate it."

"I was the one who asked, Sara-sama. You needn't thank me."

"No, I don't," She agreed. "But the thing is no one's ever asked me how I feel about things. So it was nice to tell you about my life. Most of the time people pre-judge purebloods. They consider us power obsessed and lonely."

"I can see where you come from," Ichijo muttered. He took a deep breath. "So you've had two fiances? Are you going to get engaged again?"

There was a pause.

"Well, obviously, Tanigawa's lost my hand in marriage. But at the moment I don't know. Probably. Eventually, anyway."

"Any idea to who?"

"If you can think of any other single male purebloods who aren't engaged, any of them could end up as my future fiance." Sara turned to face the aristocrat playfully. "Interested, aren't we?"

"Ah-! I mean-! Sara-sama, I-!" Ichijo broke off as Sara began to laugh. She felt as if this was the first time she had ever laughed. Sure, she had tittered at amusing things and chuckled when needs be, but this time she laughed. A real laugh that rose from her chest and reverberated in her mouth. A laugh that meant something. A laugh that was meant. Soon, Takuma chuckled with her. "I guess I'm just interested in purebloods and the way they live."

"So I'm your information source?" Sara asked, a smile playing on her lips.

"Ha, I guess so." Ichijo admitted. "You know, Sara-sama, you are different from most purebloods."

"R... I... Wh..." Sara began. "I... I... Suppose."

There was a long silence before the two laughed yet again.

"You know, Ichijo, I like you." Sara said.

"And I like you, Sara-sama."

The two stared at each other in a moments silence to fully digest what had been said.

"Really?" They both asked at the same time.

For the third time that evening, they laughed. Somehow they reassured each other, made each other feel better.

"Ah, really, Takuma." Sara breathed when she was able too. Ichijo stared at her. "What?"

"You called me Takuma." His expression was unreadable.

"Well... You suit it." Sara replied, unsurely. "Better than Ichijo anyway."

She blushed at this, a light pink dusting over her cheeks.

"Takuma?"

"Yes? Sara-sama?"

"You can stop calling me Sara-sama."

"Oh... Uh... But... It's kind of... Necessary..."

"Screw necessary," Sara said quietly, completely out of character for a moment. She leaned forwards, staring into Ichijo's green eyes. She hadn't known this boy for more than two hours yet...

"What's this feeling?" Sara murmured. Ichijo placed his hand over hers, melting into the whirls of her sapphire eyes.

"What is?" He asked, leaning forwards untill their foreheads touched.

"A squeezing pain in my stomach..." She replied, closing the sapphires.

"Heart fluttering..." Ichijo added.

"Tense..."

"Shaking,"

"Takuma..."

"Yes, Sara?"

"Thank you." And with that, Sara placed her lips on his and sucked gently. For a moment there was nothing but her kissing him, but before long Ichijo kissed her back. Her tongue licked over his. They fought for dominace in each others mouths. Takuma wrapped his arms around the pureblood infront of him properly, as if protecting her, and Sara pressed herself aagainst his chest. Eventually they paused to draw breath.

"You know what I didn't expect I'd do tonight?" Ichijo asked, looking fondly at the girl before him.

"What?"

"Fall in love," He kissed her again, only this time much more passionately. Sara moved her hands up to his face, caressing his face gently.

"Neither did I," She admitted.

Ichijo licked the blood off of her chin and smiled.

"Shall we get you clean?"

"I'm not a child, Takuma."

"Still..."

Sara smiled. She let him wipe every inch of blood off of her. By this time she was feeling a little bit light headed and drowsy.

"I think it's time you got some rest," Takuma murmured in her ear and swept her off of her feet to carry her to her bed. They kissed one last time, burning with love.

Even though she could never have him, she adored him.

That was the last thing she thought when she fell asleep.

When she woke sunlight was pouring in through the curtains. Sara winced, letting her eyes adjust, before remembering what had happened the night before.

For a moment she wondered if it had all been a dream.

Untill she rolled over and saw Takuma lying next to her, sleeping.


	4. One Shot for SuperHotCherry

I let my fingers dance over the cool pane of glass that was the window. It was winter now, and a crisp frost had coated Cross Academy's campus. Bare trees quivered as if cold, but I saw them as elegantly stark. With a smile, I withdrew from the window and turned back to the classroom. My class were huddled around desks, complaining about the bitter cold and ripping off scarves now they were in the heat of the building. I had to admit that these short school skirts weren't good for keeping the winter wind away, and more than once my skirt had flapped up, displaying my underwear. That had been embarrassing.

"Bitter, isn't it?" Yori said from beside me. I turned my head to see she was gazing at the frosty lawn too. "I'm surprised you can bear it when you're out on patrol, Yuki."

"Well, the Headmaster doesn't expect anything less from the disciplinary committee," I replied, giving an offhand grin.

"Mmm, well, speaking of disciplinary committee..." Yori fixed me with a look. "where's Zero? I haven't seen him in a while. I hate to think of you patrolling by yourself."

"Oh...um..." This was where I got stuck. Zero was away at the Hunter Society for two weeks or so with his Sensei. But Yori would be outraged that the Headmaster was making me do the committee duties by myself, so as a reply I shrugged again and murmured something. Yori nodded understandably.

"I see," she said, even though she was simply averting the conversation, and didn't see at all. "Well, take care of yourself, Yuki. I promised to clean the cooking room, so I need to go."

"OK Yori." I replied, squeezing my best friend's hand tightly as a goodbye gesture. "See you."

"Bye,"

I watched Yori's retreating figure as she left the classroom and fumbled in my pocket for my disciplinary armband, before slipping it on my arm. With a glance behind my shoulder, I opened the window as wide as it could go and leaped out into the frosty evening.

...

My breath whirled about me as I hitched up my legs on the stone wall and wrapped my arms around my body for warmth. I had nothing to do. It was too cold for the Day Class to sneak out and the Night Class decided against coming out to class, so I was just sat there, freezing.

I breathed on my numb fingers and curled my toes inside my boots. Snow had begun to fall, and thick flakes drifted past occasionally. I brushed a snowflake out of my hair and breathed out again, watching the steam hang in the air before disappearing into nothing.

Suddenly, there was a crunching of footsteps on the fallen snow and I leapt up retreiving my artemis rod from its clutch. It slid out of its compartments and I whirled around, brandishing the rod fiercly.

"Yuki?"

I tightened my jaw at the person's call.

"Who's there?" I demanded. There was a further crunching as the figure approached me, as he came out of the trees...

Then, as he stood in the clear light of the full moon, I saw his face.

"Ze...ro?" I choked out. "Aren't you-?"

"My Sensei let me go sooner than expected." Zero shrugged casually. I widened my eyes. He was exactly the same- silver hair reflecting the moonlight, lilac eyes, tall, lean figure. Somehow in the snow he seemed more...attractive. Yes, he was exactly the same, but why did he seem so...different?

Zero was walking towards me. His pace quickened at the last few feet, before he reached out and grabbed my wrists, forcing me back into a tree trunk. The artemis clattered to the floor.

"Oof!" I grunted as the hard trunk bumped my head. "Zero, what was that-" I was cut off as I looked up and saw his face mere inches away from mine. He had to look down to meet my face, and I cursed myself for being so small. Seeing him gazing into my face the way he was, so alluring, so sexy that a blush rose in my cheeks. Suddenly I was feeling hot in the freezing cold.

"Did you know you've got the most adorable face?" Zero asked me uncharacteristically. I blinked as my jaw fell open. Did Zero just call me...adorable? I didn't know such a word existed in his vocabulary! Zero chuckled before continuing. "I've got you all confused now..."

"Zero, what're you doing?" I asked, a bit panicked now. "You're acting weird. Perhaps you need to-"

"Oh, I don't need to do anything Yuki-chan." Zero breathed. Chan? I was getting seriously creeped out now.

"Zero, you're scaring me." I said as his face inched closer to mine.

His warm wet tongue poked out between his lips and, with a cheeky glance at me, he let it run across my cheek bone. "Wha- Zero, stop!" I demanded as he grew bolder, his tongue tracing a pattern across my face. I hated to admit that...I kinda liked it...

But still, Zero wasn't acting like himself.

"Zero stop! Zero, no!" I felt like I was reprimanding a bad dog. I tried to throw him off but it didn't work. Zero chuckled again, a rich, hollow sound that reverberated in his throat.

"Want me to drink your blood?" he asked, his tone suggestive. He even sounded mocking. This was NOT like Zero at all!

Before I could reply, he bent down further so his lips grazed my neck.

Then he sank his teeth into me, hard...

"Ow!" I winced at the contact. Usually Zero's bite was much more gentle, not painful... I felt my stomach seize up as something drained out of my body. Faster, faster...it was my life energy, my blood, too much of it was flowing into uncharacteristic-Zero's mouth.

"Ah...stop..." I pleaded. "Please...stop...I...t...too...much..."

Zero gripped my wrists tighter for a moment, before loosening his grip and withdrawing from my neck. I let my head droop onto my chest, trying to get my breath back. Suddenly, there was a strange sound from nearby. My head snapped up- to see Zero was snickering.

"Hey!" I cried out, outraged. "It's not funny, you jerk! First you act all weird and stuff, then you go and bite me without my permission! That really hurt, Zero! And now you're laughing at me! Jerk!"

Zero hung his head as if he was ashamed. But I could detect a spark of mockery in his eyes...

He raised his face ever so slightly so he was peeping at me from beneath his fringe.

"Yuki, I'm sorry..." he said in a pathetic little tone. He let his forehead bump against mine. The blood rose to my cheeks again- I feared I was as bright as a tomato.

"What can I do to make you forgive me?"

"Well, first you can-"

"Rhetorical question."

"Oh." I stared into Zero's eyes- which was kind of hard, because I had to cross my eyes to see them. God, they were beautiful.

He chuckled again.

"Get ready to forgive, Yuki..." he breathed into my ear and suddenly slipped his tongue into my open mouth.

In shock, I instcintly closed it, but it was too late now, his tongue was in there and was too stubborn to come out.

That's when I realised: he was kissing me.

Oh. My. God.

From the shock of it all, the first though that ran through my head was:

The Headmaster is going to kill Zero.

Then I silently cursed myself- Zero, who should be at the Hunter Society, was KISSING me, right here, right now, and all I could think about was my foster father's reaction.

_Yuki... _a voice in the back of head murmured. _Yuki, you've waited for_ _this moment all of your life...it's your first kiss...kiss him back..._

'But my first kiss was supposed to be with Kaname,' I argued silently.

_Has Kaname ever approached in such a way? Ever even suggested romance?_

'Noooo...'

_Zero is the one for you, Yuki. Enjoy it._

'But- but I love Kaname too...' I faltered.

_YUKI! FORGET KANAME! You love Zero more! Kiss him back!_ The voice commanded.

How could I argue with that?

I let his tongue lick over mine, and then, cautiously, I poked mine into his mouth. Suddenly, he pushed my tongue out of his mouth and continued snogging me in the residence of my mouth.

But I didn't let that stop me. I licked his tongue and he kissed back, making odd quiet sucking noises. I felt obliged to suck on his tongue, as if begging for it to not to leave my gob.

Then he withdrew.

I opened my eyes and looked into his demandingly.

"Why did you stop?" I whined.

"I've got a better idea." he announced, with a wry grin.

Then inky darkness submerged me.

...

I woke to find myself in a room, a room which I'd never seen before.

The walls were grey, as far as I could tell in the dim light, and the carpet was porridge coloured. There was a chest of drawers in the corner and a wardrobe standing next to it, and a little further away there was a desk, stacked with books, and then a bookshelf a little way off. A few candles were lit, balanced on the bedside table and desk, giving a little light, but most noticablely a crackling fire in the grate. With a short groan, I rolled over to find I was on a bed of some sort- a king size bed, for two. I sat up a little bit, wincing at my aching joints. Turning my stiff neck towards a slim shaft of light, I could see that it was a crack in the curtains. Peering through the small gap, I could see that it was still dark outside. Averting my eyes from the window, I turned my head to survey the rest of the room.

I gasped.

By the small thread of light I could see that there was a figure sat in a navy armchair staring through the slit in the curtains. He had his chin balanced in his palm as he stared out of the window thoughtfully. At my sharp intake of breath, he turned his head towards me with mild interest. At the revealment of his face, I breathed out in releif.

"Zero, you scared me!" I said accusingly as he rose out of his seat and stretched. He began to walk towards me.

"You're awake." he said slowly. He had a much more solid look about him now- perhaps he was feeling better from before?

"Hey...Zero?" I began. He turned his gaze to me as if he was saying, 'What?' "Where are we?"

Zero was quiet as he sat down on the bed beside me before he answered.

"The teachers' old residence. The place the Night Class were temporarily housed in."

"Oh," I couldn't think of anything better to say. Zero seemed to be staring into space, oblivious to anything else. "Zero?"

He regarded me with another 'What?' glance.

"Zero," I repeated. "Why were you acting so...weird earlier on? And why're we here?"

Zero closed his eyes, a dreamy expression crossing his face before he tackled me in a tight embrace and forced me to lie down. He collapsed beside me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. His nose snuffled into my hair.

"No reason," he murmured.

"Zero, this is getting weird again," I observed, trying to roll over so I could face him properly, but he held me fast. As if in retalliation, he curled his body around mine and I couldn't help but melt in the warmth of his arms.

"You...smell good," he purred.

"You mean my blood?"

"No, I mean you in general."

I blushed deeply. Was he flirting with me? And, was he, Zero Kiryu going to sleep with me when I was at the tender age of seventeen?

Zero's nose nuzzled down to the nape of my neck and I shivered in pleasure. I liked the light ticklish feeling as his nostrils flared with every breath, sending chills down my spine.

"Mmmm..." I mumbled subconciously. Zero chuckled ominously from behind me.

"You're getting excited." he stated.

"No I'm not!" I retorted, feeling my body grow uncomfartably hot. "Jerk!"

Zero chuckled again and his hands snaked round to my front where he tugged at the bow of my uniform.

I glanced down at his hands, confused.

"Now what're you doing?" I asked. The colour flared in my cheeks and my heart began to thud against my chest. Such weird things waved in my mind...such disturbing images...

"Let's take it a step further," Zero chuckled. "Come on, help me with this ribbon."

I inhaled sharply.

"You're not going to-? I mean, we're not going to...?" I couldn't bring myself to say it.

Zero's mouth inched closer to my ear.

"What? What're you trying to say?" he whispered into the whorls of my ear.

"Y-you know...s...s...se..."

"Sex?" Zero murmured mockingly, and laughed when I flinched at the word.

"Zero, what's got into you?" I demanded as his hand came back. "Stop! Don't! Never! Please!" I was red all over now, and tried to fight from Zero's iron grip. Frowning, Zero caught hold of my wrist and began to speak.

"Don't you want this, Yuki?" he asked, sounding surprised. "I'm sure you'll enjoy it. You love me, right?" Now he put his head on my shoulder and breathed slowly down my neck.

"I don't like this," I said in a warning tone. "Don't you want to protect my virginity?"

I could feel Zero shrug a little.

"Meh," was his reply.

"Zero, why not-"

Suddenly, his hand came back again, but this time traveled down to my chest and gave my right breast a squeeze. I gasped at the contact, both ecstasy and shock running through me. Zero then began to massage it, slowly, rubbing each knot of flesh through his finger tips. Not that there was much there to rub.

"Ze...ro..." I panted. "I-"

"You like it, don't you?" he asked, flexing his fingers further.

I let the overall shock wear off and suddenly pleasure spiked me.

"Mmmm...yes..." I breathed.

"So...shall we carry on?"

I let him pull my bow off, and as his grip was loosened, I rolled over quickly so I was facing him now. I fingered his loose tie and he gave a sly grin.

"Go on." Was all he said.

With trembling fingers, I fumbled with the tie's knot untill it simply slipped away. Zero took the tie from me and chucked it carelessly away across the bed.

Next, he undid every button on my jacket, and I copied his actions with his. Both garments joined the tie on the floor.

This was the awkward part. I could see Zero's eyes flicker up and down my body- blouse, or skirt? Either way would leave me exposed. Slowly, I sat up, and untied my shoe laces, slipping my boots and socks off.

You could pratically taste the hesitant in the air.

I glanced to the side and saw that Zero had unbuttoned his waistcoat (it was discarded) and was in the process of wriggling out of his shirt. He caught sight of me staring.

"What?" he asked. "You stopped."

I swallowed.

"I don't want to take anything else off," I admitted, hunching up.

"Oh, Yuki!" Zero sounded exasperated. "I'll do it for you, then,"

"I-!" I gave a startled cry as Zero pulled down my black skirt and felt my face aflame. He examined my blue butterfly underwear with mock interest.

"You're so adorable, Yuki." Zero comented. I didn't even see his fingers as they worked towards my...um...you-know-what- and only realised when he began stroking the skin through my pants.

"Ah..." I arched my back, giving him better access. Considering al of the things that had been happening, I didn't stop to think about how...adult things were getting now.

My blouse was soon removed, and Zero took his shirt off. I examined his muscular chest- he was in a better shape than I thought- and felt my stomach flip.

"My turn..." I breathed, and traced his muscled torso with a finger.

Every small touch of contact sent shivers through me, short, sharp, shocks of ecstasy. I fingered the V shape his stomach made, and felt him grow hard against my thigh.

Zero's arms snaked around my back, finding the clip to my bra. He fumbled with the catch- even I found it hard to deal with- but eventually undid the clasp. He paused.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. "Last chance to back out."

I smiled subtly.

"Even if I did want to back out, would you let me?"

"Nope," Zero grinned, and pulled my bra away from me. His warm tongue slipped in between my breasts and I breathed out shakily.

My underwear was the last to come off.

Zero had somehow undressed too.

After throwing the bed clothes over us, Zero tackled me to the mattress.

"Ready?"

...

I rolled over.

It was the early hours of the morning. Zero was fast asleep, his heavy breathing blowing a steady rythmn. I couldn't beleive it. In the space of ten minutes, I had waved goodbye to virginity. I simply couldn't beleive it. The feel of him, the taste of him, the way he explored inside of me, touching things never touched before. The exhilirating feel of making love, the crazy anticipation, the insane mix of pain and pleasure, rolled into one amazing night...

I breathed out, closing my eyes, remembering the wonder.

My breath blew Zero's hair around his face, tickling his face. His nose twitched at the contact as his eyes eased open. They were blurred, still full of sleep.

"Yuki?" he murmured.

"Oh! Sorry," I whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you, Zero."

Zero closed his eyes and chuckled softly.

"Last night was incredible." He commented. "I didn't know you had that in you."

"Nor did I," I confessed, biting my lip. I nestled closer towards him.

We were both stark naked- we hadn't gotten dressed again in our exhaustion. Zero's arms wound round me and pulled me closer to his chest. "Zero?" I asked in a quiet tone.

"Yeah?"

"What do you think the Headmaster'll say?"

Zero shrugged beneath me.

"Does he have to know?" he sounded irritated.

"I guess not." I agreed, and snuggled down into his chest. His hand supported my head. Suddenly, a horrorfing thought shot through me. I stiffened. "Zero. Zero, what about Kaname?"

Zero grunted.

"What about him?"

"If he knows what happened...he'll...he'll...you know how he's so...posessive over me...if he finds out...you'll be..." I chewed my lower lip as I fought tears. How could I've been so ignorant? How could I have let this happen?

What had just occured had sparked my love for Zero. All of these emotions for Kaname- mixed up, indefinate emotions- had buried the ones for Zero. But what had just happened had swept all of the Kaname-related feelings aside and now only love burned within me. For Zero.

Zero propped himself up on his elbow, making me slide off his chest. I wriggled around so I was facing him. Taking my chin in his hand, he wiped the moisture from my eyes and smiled a little.

"Don't worry about him." He assured me in a smooth voice. "It'll all be OK."

I smiled a watery smile at him.

"OK. I trust you." I said. But then...

Everything clicked. Why Zero had been acting so weird. Why he had

pushed the romance so far. Why everything had happened.

I shot out of bed, shivering madly, the sheets still wrapped around me.

"Y-you're not Zero," I whispered in horror.

The person in bed sat up and yawned casually.

There were no earrings in his ear lobe. No tattoo on his neck. But for the most part...no fangs in his mouth.

The man tapped his lips thoughtfully.

"Well done, Yuki, well done!" he exclaimed, as if praising me. "But I'm not wearing a disguise, and I'm not Zero- so who am I?"

I trembled. There was only one possible explination.

"I...Ichiru..."

Ichiru smirked. He was so proud of himself. Somehow I couldn't bring myself to beleive it. I had just...you know...with Ichiru? Not the Kiryu I thought? My head was spinning madly. I couldn't think straight. This wasn't what I wanted.

I fingered my neck in a nervous movement. There was a large lump there- in the exact place where... I gasped.

"How did you drink my blood last night?" I demanded. "Outside..."

Ichiru chuckled- the chuckle that had pleased me mere hours ago now was a sound of terror.

"I didn't," he replied simply. "I'm human, obviously."

"So then- how...?"

"Simple hunters spell for the feeling." Ichiru shrugged, before scowling when he saw my expression. "Zero wasn't born with all the powers, you know. I got something too. Oh. And I didn't draw blood. I just bit you for that part."

I shuddered, feeling as if the carpet might swallow me whole. The biting suddenly gave me a very good idea of what he had done.

"You look cute with a love bite." Ichiru commented gleefully.

I fingered the outstanding hickey on my neck once more before crumpling onto the floor.

"Why?" I whispered. "Why did you pretend to be Zero? Why did you...do this to me?"

"So if I were Zero you wouldn't mind?" Ichiru's tone was edged with annoyance.

"No!" I yelled. I gathered the sheets around me and stumbled upwards. "No, I wouldn't! I love Zero, not you! I love HIM! You pretended to be him! You've ruined everything!"

"'Ruined everything?'" Ichiru repeated slowly. "How?" he inquired.

"My first kiss," I sobbed. "My life. My world. My existence." The tears came thick and fast and there was nothing I could do to stop them.

Suddenly Ichiru was infront of me, cupping my face with both hands.

Momentarily I was quietened by the look in his eyes. That moment was all he needed.

"Yuki. You want to know why- why I did what I did. Well, the reason...well." For a while he was distracted, and looked down at the ground as if in shame. "I guess I didn't have my head on straight when I thought about it. It just...came to me. But I should've just come clean and told you."

"Tell me? Tell me what?" I asked.

"I needed a way...a way which you wouldn't call for help or run away...to tell you...that I love you!"

I froze. Love. Love me.

Ichiru Kiryu. Zero's twin. Just said. He. Loves. Me.

Oh my God.

I lifted my hands awkwardly to touch the ones holding my face. Ichiru looked up sheepishly, and, surprisingly, I could see that there were tears gathering there.

"So I'm sorry." he continued. "For what I did. I wasn't thinking straight. I just needed one night, one night of you, one time that you were all mine..."

"Oh, Ichiru," I breathed. "That's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."

Ichiru managed a small smile.

"Am I forgiven?" he asked.

"Well..." I hesitated. Ichiru's face dropped like a stone as he lowered his hands.

"I guess I was asking too much." He said, turning away. "Just somehow...I felt like I needed a turn. That Kuran and Zero had their fair share of you and I wanted a piece. Oh well." He was doing well to mask it but I could tell-he was gutted.

But how could he expect me to return such feelings when he deceived me so, pretending to be Zero, and now I was in the middle of an extremely complicated love quadrangle...or maybe even a love pentagon, if you counted the Headmaster.

Kaname wouldn't give me up at all. He'd kill and slaughter Ichiru mercilessly. Zero...well, he wouldn't go down without a fight. Maybe hand me over after a battle which he couldn't win, but I doubted the idea that there was any battle Zero could lose. The Headmaster...I kicked him out of the equasion and settled for the quadrangle. His love was NOT the sort of love I meant here.

I shivered and the coldness of it all. How could three people love me that much? I wasn't beautiful, or alluring, sexy, dangerous, or interesting, I was stupid, short, and normal.

Now, inside, there was the heap of love for Zero, the emotions for

Kaname that had yet to be sorted, and now a new section bumbling with feelings for Ichiru.

I watched him as he re-dressed, quietly, taking his time to button up his shirt and waistcoat. My heart began to thump and tears pricked then corners of my eyes.

Earlier I had throbbed with love for Zero. Now I was bursting with burn for Ichiru.

Silently, I slipped my blouse on and hurriedly did up the buttons. Then I pulled on my underwear and skirt, kicked the sheets away from me, and bolted towards Ichiru. I threw my arms around him from behind; and began to sob.

"Ichiru, I'm sorry!" I cried. "I'm sorry! Ichiru, I take it back! I love you! Let me love you! Ichiru..." I faltered as the tears took over.

"Yu...Yu...ki..." Ichiru stammered. I clutched at his shirt tightly as we both sank to the floor.

"I didn't mean what I said about Zero." I admitted. "It was just...pretending like that...you got my mind all confused, and I...I didn't know who you were...and what you did made me love...who I thought you were...even more...but now..."

Ichiru patted my hands that were clasped across his chest tightly. Even though I couldn't see his face, I could literally sense his smile.

"You mean it, Yuki? You really mean it?" He asked.

I nodded; without hesitation.

I let him turn around in my arms and softened into his kiss. I let my tongue sweep over his- in his mouth, now that he had no ordinary teeth to hide- and melted into his arms, his warmth.

"I love you," I whispered as we broke for air. I closed my eyes, feeling his fingers trace my jaw line.

"Good," he purred.

When I opened my eyes, he was gone.

...

I returned to my room afterwards. Class had started ages ago, but I didn't care- I just wanted to think about the night before.

Where had he gone? Where had Ichiru disappeared to? I threw myself on my bed. Staring at the blank ceiling before me, I began to contemplate.

If he loved me, and I did him, did that make us boyfriend and girlfriend? Or lovers? What did it mean?

I rolled over and felt my heart sink.

There was still the daunting problem of Kaname. He didn't like Zero- scratch that, he hated Zero, and I doubted that he would feel much different about Ichiru. Much less of what had happened. I'm sure he'd be able to sense my virginity was broken- somehow, with that way Purebloods can know just about anything. I shivered. I threw my arms out in exsaperation and sighed. My hand brushed against a piece of paper. After sitting up, I regarded it with disinterested eyes. It was folded, and the paper was a pale yellow colour. Maybe it was Yori's?

I unfolded it, expecting a scribble, a doodle, a verse maybe, or nothing at all- just an improvised bookmark. But it was so much more.

_Yuki,_

_Sorry I just took off like that. Needed to give you this note. I need you to know about this. Kuran's going to kill me if he finds out and Zero won't be all smiles either. We need to get away. Come with me- I'm going South. And I want you with me. Please. If you agree, drop this note out of the window. I'll be waiting. If you DO agree, after dropping this, get a few things you might want to take with you. In a backpack or something. Be quick- I've only got an hour, then I- hopefully, we- need to go. Love you forever,_

_Ichiru xxx_

I dropped the note and stared at the one sentence. 'We need to get away...' 'Come with me...' 'I'm going South...'

Worry and doubt piled up, but I washed them away.

Ichiru.

That was all that mattered. He was all that mattered.

Ichiru.

Even now, as I fought with the window for it to open, the note held in my teeth, my feelings for him just built up, higher and higher untill all that I thought of related to this Kiryu twin.

The window jolted open, and I flailed like crazy, almost toppling over the edge. I kept my grip on the ledge and managed to keep my balance.

The yard was empty as I tossed the paper out of the window. It caught in the winter breeze, swaying slightly as it fluttered downwards. Flecks of weak sunlight dappled it gently. It barely brushed the ground when a shadowy figure darted out from the thicket, snatched it, and returned to its hide in the bush. Instead of being frightened, I waved brightly and ducked back inside.

What to pack?

Now that I'd opened the window, the chill air had entered the room, and I rubbed my arms to keep myself from freezing.

I uncovered an old purple rucksack that was Yori's. She hadn't used it for the two years we'd been at Cross Academy, so I figured it wouldn't matter if I purloined it. Inside, I put a picture of me and the Headmaster when I was little, some clothes, some scissors, artemis, and various other bits. I stuck the craziest things in the backpack but memories mean more to me than dresses and textbooks.

That was when I came across the rose in its resin Kaname had given me.

I fingered the glass. It was precious, admittedly, but...now Kaname didn't matter. I lay the resin aside regretfully.

Then, as I shouldered the pack, I knocked over a box of old letters and various memoirs.

"Shoot!" I cursed as the papers fluttered to the floor and under the bed. I swept them together in one swoop, then caught sight of one picture that I had had for a year.

Zero and me on our first day of high school. I stared at Zero's annoyed expression and my excited one. I can still remember the Headmaster's voice. "Hey, Zero, smile!" I smiled as I recalled Zero punching him after the snap of the camera.

I suddenly wondered what the hell I was doing. Leaving behind those precious to me. Yori, the Headmaster, Zero, Kaname...

Was one person enough to replace all four? I hesitated, the pack still on my shoulder. Should I? Should I really, really go with Ichiru? I would leave behind all of my family. My friends. My memories. The only life I'd known.

All of these feelings for Ichiru had bobbed up as soon as he revealed himself not to be Zero. Was this ache in my heart that I felt love? Or regret? I had barely been in Ichiru's presence for three days since I first met him, and it had only taken a mere two hours to dedicate myself to him.

Ichiru. Ichiru.

Ichiru and Yuki. Ichiru and me. Ichiru and I.

No matter how many times I considered not leaving, these three sentences screamed in my head.

I just had to. Else my heart would wither.

I paused infront of the mirror. My cheeks were pink with the cold, my eyes wide and nervous. I looked wrong, in just my blouse and skirt, like I was half dressed for school. Besides, even without the jacket and ribbon, the Cross Academy uniform was easily recognised. I decided to change.

After carefully lying down the rucksack, I re-dressed in a pair of jeans with pink tartan hems, a white shirt, a red V-neck jumper and a grey-green hoody.

I stared at the halter in my hands. I used it to strap the artemis rod to my thigh. After considering a moment, I balanced that on top of the rest of the stuff in my bag, before zipping it up tightly.

Now was the hard part. I seized a paper and pen, and wrote Dear Yori, on the top of the paper before hesitating. I wanted to write a long, loving farewell message to my best friend, but I was running out of time, and lacked the fluency with words necessary. I simply printed a bold 'Goodbye' across the page, and signed my name underneath. Then, I carefully clipped a lock of my hair and wound the note around it. I laid it on Yori's pillow, and added similar messages complete with a lock of my hair for the Headmaster and Zero.

I glanced at my reflection once more. The strands I had cut off left my hair unbalanced and weird. Seizing the scissors once more, and I began to cut. I hacked away lock after lock, untill I was left with a tom boyish hair style. I twisted my neck this way and that. I was a little shocked at what I had done, but I liked it...it was...cool.

I shouldered the pack (after clearing away excess hair), and with a deep breath, launched myself out of the window. I caught hold of a tree branch, and, instcintively, lowered myself to the next one. I dropped to the ground silently.

I stood up, and pulled my hood up, shivering in the cold. I breathed out a stream of warm air when-

"Yuki?"

I spun around on my heel to see Kaname walking towards me, gracefully pacing himself. Silently cursing, I dipped my head in acknowledgment.

"Hello, Kaname," I said nervously. "Um...what're you doing up so early?"

"I need to speak to the Headmaster," Kaname replied smoothly. "But...Yuki..." He stopped, about a foot away from me. "What are you doing out here?"

Oh shoot. I couldn't think what to say, and just shifted from one foot to another.

"You cut your hair," Kaname observed. I nodded, pressing my lips tightly together.

"Mm hm." I mumbled.

"Yuki..." Kaname sounded exasperated. His hand caught hold of my chin as he stared into my eyes. "Yuki, no matter what you do, you cannot be with him."

I whipped around, panic flaring within me. I forced myself to pretend.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked shakily.

"Ichiru Kiryu." Kaname purred. There was a spark of malice in his eye, but it was gone as soon as it came. "You do not belong with him. You belong here at this Academy, with the Headmaster, Zero, and I."

I was surprised that he included Zero in that list but disregarded the thought.

"Why can't I have him?" I demanded, my voice wavering as tears threatened to choke me.

"You cannot have him." Kaname repeated slowly. "You do not love him. He has only manipulated your feelings so you do."

"Kaname...Kaname, no, that's not it!" I yelled, my voice rising in volume. "I love him too! Why don't you think I'm not mature enough for love?"

"Yuki...I only say this to protect you..."

"Protect me from what?" I demanded angrily. "I'm not a child anymore!"

"This is for your own good." Kaname said smoothly. He reached out to cup my face, but in my anger I slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me!" I screamed. "You say it's for my own good, so why do you try to keep me from being happy?"

"You will be much happier here, away from him."

I shook my head, tears blurring my vision.

"I don't want to hear it." I said. "Please, Kaname."

"No. No, Yuki, I won't give you to that man." Kaname spoke. "Else I will kill him."

"You're evil!" I screamed. "How can you kill him? You're an evil, wicked vampire and I never want to see you again!"

I started to run. I ran as fast as I could, tears streaking down my face as I stumbled through the woods.

"Ichiru," I called in a cracked voice. "Ichiru. Ichiru,"

There was a snap of twigs from nearby, and before I knew it, I crashed into Ichiru's chest.

"Ah..." I whispered as he fingered the wisps if my new hair cut. "You cut your hair," Ichiru said, repeating Kaname. "It's adorable."

I managed a weak smile before beginning to speak in an urgent tone.

"Kaname saw me. He's going to kill you if he finds us. We need to go, now. He somehow knew. About last night..." I shivered, though not necessarily from the cold.

"Oh. Right." Ichiru rolled his eyes, before grabbing my hand tightly. "Trust Kuran to make things difficult. Right, I'll lead you, you just run. As fast as you can. And don't let go of my hand. Whatever you do. Got it?"

I nodded, and Ichiru grinned, before setting off at a sprint towards the gates. I pounded along from behind him, letting him half drag me on our way. We vaulted over the closed gate, and before long, on a train to some unknown destination.

Ichiru kissed me and smiled at my blush.

"This is the start of our whole new life together."

...

How well I could remember that day, the day that Ichiru and I had run away. The day when it became us. Now, eight years later, I was sat at my dressing table, staring into the mirror at my reflection. A twenty five year old woman, dressed in white meringue, stared back at me.

Today was my wedding day. Ichiru had proposed to me two years ago, but Kaname had been hot on our trail, and we were having a hard time to find somewhere and settle down, so it took a while for us to finally get around to the wedding.

So here I was, letting a new friend, Becky, do my make up.

Since we were running out of hiding places in Japan, we found ourselves taking residence in a small English village, near Cornwall. We had been here for three months now, and owned a small flat. Ichiru earned money, 'in his own way' (as quoted), and I had started painting as a hobby, but sometimes got around to selling the pieces.

"All done. What do you think?"

I opened my eyes as Becky finished. She had powdered my face, brushed a thin layer of lipgloss over my lips, added mascara, and finally smudged cream eyeshadow over my eyelids. I smiled.

"Thanks Becky." I smiled. "It looks great." Privately, I didn't want to wear any make up; I didn't like it much, but Becky had insisted it'd look great.

"No problem, Yuki-chan." Becky replied. She had called me Yuki-chan ever since she found out we were from Japan (she called Ichiru 'Ichiru-kun-san'), just for a joke, but the nickname stuck.

I smiled weakly, then shuddered slightly. Becky noticed immediatly.

"Nervous, Yuki-chan?"

"You have no idea." I grinned, baring my teeth in a sickly grin. What if I tripped down the isle? What if I stammered through the vows? What if Ichiru said 'I don't' instead of 'I do'? This was unlikely, admittedly, but I was so...

"Don't sweat it." Becky patted me on the shoulder. "Everything'll be fine. Ichiru-kun-san's crazy about you." She reached up and patted my hair. "It's a shame your hair's so short. I would've like to do that too."

Yes, even after eight years, I had kept my hair cropped short. It was more comfartable, and Ichiru said it looked cute.

Becky sprayed my hair with hairspray, before fixing my veil into place with a few kirby grips.

"There! C'est manifique!" Becky exclaimed. "You look wonderful."

I managed a small smile and stood up. My legs were shaking and I felt the room spin around me.

"Becky," I said urgently. "Becky, I'm gonna be sick."

Becky made a small squeak of horror, found a smal bowl, as I began to retch in it. Nothing came, though.

Becky rubbed my back and placed the bowl aside as the retching slowed.

"You got yourself all worked up." Becky said slowly as she smoothed my veil back into place. "Calm down. You don't want to faint at the altar, do you?"

I shook my head.

"Sorry. I'll try my best to stay calm." I said with a smile.

In ten minutes, we arrived at the church, a modest thing, and in the next half hour, Ichiru and I exchanged the vows and slid rings onto each others' fingers.

"I do."

"I do."

Ichiru clasped me tightly to himself, and kissed me passionately as the guests roared and applaupded their approval. I kissed Ichiru back, happy. So happy.

Ichiru broke away from me and punched the air.

"Eat that, Kuran!" he yelled. "Yuki's now mine all mine! Mrs Yuki Kiryu!"

I giggled.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you? I asked, a playful smile dancing on my lips.

"I beleive you just did- in the vows." Ichiru replied. I laughed, and he laughed too.

Mr and Mrs Kiryu.

...

The pain. The pain. It hurt so much.

I gripped Ichiru's hand as if my life depended on it- he musn't let go, especially if I didn't live through this...

The pain ripped through me again and I screamed again.

"Ichiru, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!" I cried through tears.

"It'll all be OK, Yuki. Keep breathing." Ichiru said quietly, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. I smiled, but only momentarily before I had to howl again.

Ichiru and I had been married for a year and a half now, and for six months in that time, we had continued to live happily in Cornwall. But after a close call with Kaname, we had moved back to Japan sharpish. Our undying love to each other came in the shape of our baby. So that's what I was doing, lying on my back in our house, screaming fit to bust. Going through labour.

We decided against going to the hospital for this time, just in case, so Ichiru had trained himself how to deliver children.

He was ready, and I just needed to push. After being in this state for six hours, it was time. But I was so tired.

"Ichiru...I'm so tired..." I whimpered. "I can't...do it..."

"Yes you can, Yuki. Yes you can." Ichiru insisted. He hesitated for a moment before loosening my grip on his hand. "I'll get into position then."

"No..." I whined. "Ichiru, don't let go..."

"I have to, Yuki." Ichiru kissed me on my sweaty brow. "When I say push, I want you to give it your all. OK?"

"I don't know if I..."

"You can." he said firmly. "Think about holding our baby."

I nodded and let out a small moan as it began to hurt again.

"Good job," he assured me. "Right. Put your feet on my shoulders-" I

did so "-right. Ready?"

I nodded, biting my lip.

"Push, Yuki! Push!"

I pushed as much as my weary body would allow me. It was agony, as if someone had taken my guts by the handful and yanked on them, hard. I screamed the house down.

"Push!"

I tried, I really did.

"A bit more, Yuki, nearly there." Ichiru assured me. "Push just a bit more."

I pushed four more times while Ichiru kept me going with comments like, 'Here's the head' and 'Almost there'.

"One big one, and you're done, Yuki." My husband said fondly. "One big one."

I gathered all of my not-so-great strength, and pushed. I screamed- but then my screams were cut off by a much smaller, quieter, dismal wail. The feeling of my insides being ripped out evaporated; I was just very, very sore.

"Did I do it?" I whispered weakly.

"You did. Oh God, Yuki, you did it alright. She's gorgeous." Ichiru mumbled.

I wriggled upwards a little bit. She...?

"Give me a minute," he said. "Let me clean all the blood off of her, then you can see her."

I lay back on the pillows, exhausted. There was still a twinge of pain down there, and I guessed it was the after birth, but I didn't want to think about that yet. I closed my eyes for a moment, almost slipping into sleep, but then I felt Ichiru's warm hand gently shaking me awake.

"Yuki? Do you want to see our daughter?" he asked.

Daughter!

I opened my eyes and sat up, to see Ichiru cradling a figure swathed in a blue blanket. With a soft smile, he held out the baby to me and I took it gently.

What I saw next made me gasp.

A tiny little girl stared back at me, her pink starfish hands waving around in this strange new world. Her eyes were a rich brown, similar to mine in shape and colour, but with flecks of lilac and grey. Her hair was tufty and a silvery blonde. As I reached out to touch her cheek, my finger was grabbed by a little crimson fist.

"Wow," I murmured. "Wow."

Ichiru sat next to me on the bed and nuzzled into the nape of my neck, planting tiny kisses as he went.

"It's a girl," he said playfully, mimicking a doctor in a hospital.

I laughed and stroked my daughter's tiny fist with the finger she clutched. "I can't beleive we made this. It's just...incredible." I smiled. "Look, she's even got little nails and everything."

"Why, what did you expect her to have? Claws and fangs?" Ichiru teased. He laughed before running a finger down the baby's face. "But yeah, it's amazing. Look what you did, Yuki! You gave birth to a healthy baby girl!"

"How'd you know she's healthy?" I asked mockingly. "How much does she weigh anyway?"

"Seven pounds, give or take a bit." Ichiru shrugged. "I measured her on the kitchen scales."

I giggled at my husband, before leaning down and sniffing my daughter's scent. She smelt of outdoors, which was strange, considering she had spent nine months inside of me. I straightened up as the baby wriggled a little.

"What shall we call her?" Ichiru asked after a moment's silence.

"I don't know," I bit my lip. Names were important. What should this little girl be called?

"My mother's name was Miiko." Ichiru said softly. "That...would be a nice name."

With one glance at him confirmed it- he really wanted her name to be Miiko.

"OK then." I continued cheerfully. "Miiko Kiryu it is."

Ichiru looked surprised for a moment before breaking into a grin.

"Miiko. Hi, Miiko!" He said brightly. "I'm your dad. And you've got the best mother in the world!"

"Stop it, you," I giggled.

After feeding Miiko, we dressed her in a nappy and sleepsuit, before laying her down in her crib to sleep.

For a long time we watched her sleep, her little face in peace while she dozed, while I cuddled up to Ichiru. We were so happy.

"Ichiru?" I said after a while.

"Mm?"

"I'm the luckiest person in the world."

"How?"

"I've got a home. A daughter. And the best husband in the world."

...

"Miiko, look this way!" Ichiru called to the birthday girl. Miiko clapped her hands and gurgled happily as Ichiru aimed the video camera at her. I laughed at Miiko's pleased expression; her huge, enthustiastic eyes, wide with anticipation for the festivities of the day. She grinned her toothless grin, still clapping.

"OK, Miiko, that's getting on Daddy's nerves, stop clapping," Ichiru playfully scolded, lowering the camera to catch hold of our daughter's small fists in his large one.

"Never mind him, Miiko," I added, as I came into the room from the kitchen, with three presents in my arms. "Tell Daddy he doesn't know the meaning of fun. Go on! Say, 'Daddy, you don't know the meaning of fun!'"

"Babbi!" Miiko exclaimed as Ichiru released her hands to fix a look at me.

"Yes, Miiko!" I replied. I swept her up into my arms and repeated it with vigour. "Babbi!"

"Ha ha," Ichiru grinned. "Now I wish we had a son."

"Why?"

"'Cus I'm sick of you girls ganging up on me."

I laughed and Miiko copied, laughing her own shrieking laugh.

Today was Miiko's first birthday. It was hard to beleive it had been a year since that painful day; the day which Miiko had been born. We had stayed put in the same house for this entire year- somehow this house held memories, memories of Miiko, memories of Ichiru and I as husband and wife. And now I had some wonderful news; which I would share with Ichiru very soon.

"Anyway: time for presents?" He asked, standing up too.

"Sure," I smiled, putting Miiko down on the sofa before sitting next to her.

Ichiru sat on the other side of her and put the three parcels before her.

After showing her what to do, Miiko soon began to rip happily, throwing bit of wrapping paper in the air, barely glancing at the contents.

"Miiko," I called softly. She ignored me. I tried again. "Miiko! Look at the things you got!"

I think she considered bit of crackling paper more interesting than her very own mother. Ichiru just laughed at me.

"C'mon, sweetie," he gently took the wrapping paper away from the one year old and picking up the first thing that she got. Miiko let out a high pitched whine and reached out for the paper which her father held aloft. I noticed her eyes getting watery, and her cheeks reddening as if she were about to cry.

"Uh uh, little miss," I said firmly. "No tears on your birthday." I pulled her onto my lap and rubbed her back firmly. It always helped to calm her down.

"See, Miiko? Look at this. See? See?" Ichiru held out a light blue plush kitten with a bell around its neck for Miiko's inspection. He shook it- and as the bell jingled, Miiko made a happy little noise and held out her arms to claim her present.

"Adorable," I commented as the baby on my lap wrapped her arms tightly around the kitten's neck, chewing on its soft ear.

"Reminds me of you," Ichiru shot back, raising his eyebrows. I blushed profusely.

"Eh?" I exclaimed. "You didn't know me at this age!"

"Doesn't matter," he shrugged. "You're still my adorable little wife."

His arm snaked around my waist as he pulled me closer. His lips found mine.

"Ichiru!" I cried, pulling away. "Not in front of the baby!"

"She's a baby, she won't remember." Ichiru commented. "Besides, she too preoccupied with that kitten to notice."

I giggled, glancing at the infant I held firmly to my lap with one arm.

"True."

Our kiss deepened madly. We were cut off by Miiko blurting a number of random syllables.

"What?" Ichiru asked, almost crossly. "Can't you see we're busy, Miiko?"

"Never too busy for her, I bet." I laughed, before handing Miiko her other two presents: a dummy, and a blanket with a small bear embroidered in one corner.

"Oh." I suddenly realised.

"Hm?"

"Ichiru, I've got some really, really, good news." I almost bounced up land down with excitement. Miiko grumbled at the sudden movement, so I transferred her to my arms rather than my lap.

"What is it?" Ichiru asked. His eyes were shining. He was so god damn beautiful.

"I'm pregnant. Again." I whispered joyfully. Ichiru's eyes widened, as they flickered down to my stomach, then back up to my face. I grinned widely. "Well?"

"I...God, Yuki. How'd you find out?"

"Just yesterday. I noticed that I seemed to be putting some weight on, and a couple of mornings ago I was sick. So I got a pregnancy test- and ta da!" To accent this, I pulled up my shirt a little to reveal the tiny three-month bump on my stomach.

Ichiru's hand moved over my navel, before resting onto the curve.

"Oh, Yuki," he breathed. His lips found mine once more. "I love you so, so much."

"So you're glad?"

"More than."

That evening, we tucked Miiko up in her cot, alongside her new kitten, and snuggled up on the sofa together in the light of the fire.

Ichiru's fingers grazed my stomach lightly, and I was cuddled up to him, my feet tucked up on the sofa, my head on his shoulder.

"I love our life," I whispered, gazing into the flickering firelight with a smile on my face.

"Me too."

"Ichiru?"

"Mm?"

"Do you want our second baby to be a boy or girl?"

Ichiru cocked his head to the side, his mouth laced in thought. After a while, he shrugged.

"To be honest, I don't mind. But I'll let you name it this time." he said.

I giggled. "We both named Miiko!"

"I came up with the idea..."

I smirked playfully at Ichiru. He pulled a face back at me before we were interuppted by Miiko wailing loudly.

"Oh dear," Ichiru said as I stood up and trotted over to Miiko's room.

I returned with our pink-faced daughter sniffing loudly in one arm, and a bottle of formula milk in the other. I settled back on the sofa and nudged the teat against Miiko's mouth. She began to suck hungrily. Ichiru was quiet for a moment, watching us thoughtfully before he spoke.

"I still think we should've moved last month." he said quietly.

"Oh foo!" I stuck my tongue out. "You know I wanted to stay for Miiko's first birthday."

"Yeah, but we've been here for too long. A whole year. Kuran might be close. We don't want to risk it."

"I guess." I sat Miiko up and burped her, before handing her to Ichiru to hold. "She can stay with us 'till she goes to sleep." I paused. "If you really want, we can move within the next week."

Ichiru glanced towards the window- you could see he was considering.

"Yeah. Better that not moving at all." He turned back to me and smiled faintly, before leaning down and snuffling into Miiko's white blonde hair. Said baby was on the verge of sleep; her eyelids fluttering closed, he pink fingers stuffed in her mouth. "It seems like only yesterday she was born."

"She was so tiny."

"She still is." Ichiru gave me a cheeky grin. "Takes after her mother."

"Will you stop that!" I demanded.

"Stop what?" His face made me want to hit him. In a friendly way.

"Saying that everything Miiko has is like me!"

Ichiru laughed and pulled me closer to him and crushing his lips to mine. "But it's true!"

"How?" I set my jaw tightly in mock anger.

"She's got nothing to gain from me."

I let all of my mockery fall from my face as my joking facade came crashing down. This had suddenly turned from a playful teasing to a serious conversation.

"Oh, Ichi," I said, using an old nickname that we had used when we first got married. I stood up and wrapped my arms around his neck, my chin on his head. "That's not true at all. You're a wonderful husband, and you're great with Miiko. She's a real daddy's girl. Besides, she's beautiful, and just so...perfect. Exactly like you."

Ichiru smiled and pecked me on the cheek, then glanced down at the sleeping infant in his arms.

"Bed time?" he asked.

"Bed time." I echoed firmly, as Ichiru stood up, lugging Miiko onto his hip.

Suddenly, there was a huge bang, as the front window split down the middle. Miiko's eye snapped open as she whined loudly in terror. My eyes darted to Ichiru.

"Yuki." he said, shoving Miiko into my arms.

The front window shattered into thousands of shards, scattering across the floor, and a huge, black wolf leapt into the room. Ichiru leapt infront of me and Miiko, spreading his arms to protect us.

The wolf eyed us, before morphing into...into...

Kaname.

"Kuran," Ichiru growled. I could see him edging towards the cabinet in the corner- and I knew what he was going to get. Hidden from Kaname's view, I opened the cupboard with one arm and retreived the vampire gun, not dissimilar to the Bloody Rose. I was about to slip it to him before Kaname spoke.

"It's been ten years." he spoke, almost calmly, but there was malice in his voice- unmistakable malice. "Ten long years. You have evaded me for this time."

"What do you want?" Ichiru spat. "Yuki's not yours. She has a life and she chose to live it her way. She married ME."

Kaname narrowed his eyes. "She does not belong to you, Ichiru Kiryu."

I shivered. The atomsphere was so icy. Miiko had stopped whining, but was trembling now, her face burrowed into my chest. I tried bouncing her a little but she whimpered in terror.

"Like I said, she's not yours either." Ichiru spoke sharply.

"Yuki does not belong here." Kaname said quietly. He caught sight of me lurking behind my husband and extended his hand towards me. "Come, Yuki. Come with me."

I shook my head furiously.

"No," I choked out. I clutched Ichiru's shirt from behind, before yelling, "I want to stay with Ichiru!"

This provoked Miiko to wail loudly, and almost instcintively I began to rock her a little. Kaname's eyes sparked.

"A child?"

Ichiru nodded solidly.

"Yes. My child. Yuki's and mine. She's really gone, Kuran."

Kaname almost hissed like a cat.

"Yuki will never be gone," he glared at Ichiru. "You and your child must die."

"No!" I screamed. "You'll never hurt Miiko!"

The pureblood glanced at me aplogetically. "I'm sorry, Yuki." He said. "This is how it must be. It will be all over in just a second. Then we can be happy together."

"When will you understand?" I screamed. "I'm twenty eight now! I'm happy HERE! I don't want to be with you!"

"Yuki..." Kaname began witheringly.

"NO!" I shrieked. "I'm happy! I will never love you if you killed my family! This-" I gestured to the house. "-and these people-" I gestured to Ichiru and Miiko. "-are my entire world! You just want me to yourself! And you'll kill whoever gets in your way to do that! You're just so selfish!"

Kaname's face hardened. "Maybe I am." he said softly. "But you cannot be with these people." He lifted his arm and swooped it in a downwards motion. When I looked back to Ichiru, there was a huge gash in his chest, spitting blood from the huge, bloody wound. Ichiru gasped and slipped to the floor, paler than ever.

"ICHIRU!" I screamed, dropping to the floor beside him.

"Now, Yuki." Kaname said quietly. He stepped before me, holding out his hand for Miiko. "Give me the baby."

I glanced up, tears in my eyes.

No.

Never.

The gun in my hand slid out of its pouch and my finger slipped over the trigger, hidden from view.

"Why?"

"Because this is the way it was meant to be."

That look on his face, so gentle and so alluring no longer made me blush or my heart thump. He was a monster.

I whipped out the gun and there was a deafening bang as I pressed the trigger. The bullet buried itself into Kaname's chest.

The last thing Kaname did was clutch at his chest, before leaning down to kiss me. A crack worked its way up his face, and his pale skin became glassy, before he split into thousands of diamond fragments.

"Yes," I whispered. "You were always meant to die."

I whipped around to Ichiru, who had his hand cupped around his wound, as if protecting it. He was lying in a bloody pool. We both knew it was too late.

"Ichi..." I wept. His lilac eyes rolled over to look at me.

"Yu...ki..." he whispered in a horrid, ragged breath. I clutched his hand.

"Don't leave me!" I begged. "Please! Ichiru! I love you!"

"I...love you..." Ichiru repeated, a frail hand reaching up towards me. I took it and pressed it up against my stomach.

"Stay with me. Please. For the little one. For Miiko."

Ichiru's eyes glazed over. He was in so much pain. So, so much pain.

Not just physical, but emotional too.

"Yuki..." He whispered, as I bent further forward and let my lips graze his. We shared one last, beautiful kiss, before he spoke again.

"Never...give up...always...try...go...to...Zero...find...him..."

"Zero?" I repeated, wiping my nose with my hand.

"He...will...take care of you...and...our children..." Ichiru's breath was so shallow now.

"You're really leaving?" I sniffed, emotion welling up inside of me and spilling out as salty tears.

Ichiru did his best to nod. His hand came up again and brushed my face. I cupped it closely to my cheek and closed my eyes tightly. Ichiru. How could he go? How could he...die?

The hand against my cheek went limp, but I couldn't bring my self to look at Ichiru's dead body. Miiko grizzled in my arms, a solid little weight on my hip. For once I ignored her.

"But...Ichiru...I loved you."

...

The snow whirled past gently. I held out one black lace gloved hand and caught a white circle of frost. I clenched my hand into a fist before readjusting Miiko's attire. She was in a simple black cotton dress, with thick fabric to protect her from the cold. There was a pair of dinky black pantent shoes over her black woolly tights, and a fur trimmed hood over her silver head. There were tiny navy mittens around her tiny fists.

I, on the other hand, was wearing a black ribboned bodice over a long black dress, and a cloak over that. I had a black veil over my face. Perhaps to conceal my face. My five months pregnant belly was swollen over the waistband, straining the fabric around it. Zero was standing nearby, dressed simply in a black cotton shirt, long black dress coat and dark trousers. He glanced over at me and nodded towards the grave. I gave him a small smile in return before walking over to the stone monument.

I brushed the gathered snow off of the grave and traced the letters engraved onto it. It read, 'Ichiru Kiryu- brother, husband, father-loved forever.' I found this an understatement. He wouldn't be loved forever. He would be missed greatly, adored for infinity. Since that day- after I'd opened my eyes to see Ichiru's still corpse- a huge chunk had been ripped away. As if someone had taken part of me and torn it away. The pain I felt now was so much worse than the pain I had felt when in labour with Miiko. I breathed out shakily.

Everyday, every minute, memories of the ten years Ichiru and I had spent together would haunt me. Images of Ichiru bathing Miiko, Ichiru kissing me, Ichiru falling asleep at my side, Ichiru saying 'I do', Ichiru taking my hand and running away with me...

I choked as I struggled to contain a sob. Mostly I had learnt to turn my features into an indifferent mask, so I was emotionless. Even Ichiru's death had taken affect on Miiko. She hadn't been her usual playful self. She had started speaking clearly now, and would sometimes say, "Daddy?" in a pathetic, questioning tone. I would feel so guilty. Was it all my fault that she didn't have a daddy? If only I had stepped infront of Ichiru, Kaname wouldn't have gored him, and then...

I had found out the gender of the baby inside of me. It was going to be a boy. This made me feel so upset. Ichiru hadn't even lived to see his son. The son he had wanted.

I felt Zero's hand clamp onto my shoulder and I turned around. He gave me a sort of smile- the side of his mouth puckered.

"I think that's enough."

I had stayed true to Ichiru's wishes and found Zero. He accepted me, though I still thought he was awkward around me. I had a child now and another inside of me, so life was a bit of a blur.

I returned the puckered smile and deposited Miiko in Zero's arms.

"I'll go in in a minute," I said. "Just give me a moment alone."

Zero nodded and took Miiko indoors. I smiled after them before dropping down so I was level with the grave.

"Ichiru," I whispered. My fingers danced over the cool stone- just as I had done with the window ten years ago. "Ichiru, you have no idea how much I miss you."

Even though I wouldn't, for Miiko and my unborn son, and for Ichiru's last wish, somehow I felt as if if I died here, I would die satisfied.

Ichiru, I'm lonely.

**OK! Next is for dearwhomever!**


	5. One Shot for dearwhomever

"NO!"

"Sasame..."

"I said, NO!"

"This is for your wellbeing..."

"What part of NO don't you understand?" I shrieked, stamping my foot and glaring at my sister. She stared back at me with those unreadable eyes.

"Sasame, your admittance fee has already been paid. If you don't go, we'll lose alot of money."

"Seiren, NO means NEVER, NEVER means NOT AT ALL, NOT AT ALL means I WON'T GO and I WON'T GO means; I. WON'T. GO!" I retorted, spinning on my heel so I was facing the wall. Geez, why was my sister always so stubborn?

My name is Sasame Amano. My sister's called Seiren, as you've probably picked up. She is stubborn, mean, stubborn, annoying, stubborn, forceful, stubborn and... Well, stubborn.

She had just told me I was going to Cross Academy with her.

I HATED the idea of school. School meant early nights and early to wake up. School meant lessons and tests. School meant people and SOCIALIZING. I shuddered at the thought.

"Seiren, I don't WANT to go. So don't make me!" I pleaded changing tactic.

"Sasame, you are going and that's that." Seiren replied, utterly emotionless. Her gaze went right through me as if I wasn't there. "I'm afraid everything's been arranged. School starts in three days..."

"WHAT?" I exploded all over again. "TWO DAYS? YOU INSOLENT BITCH!" Seiren barely winced at my language. That's pretty much the best thing about Seiren- you can offend her all you want and not get hurt. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER!"

"I did," My sister replied calmly. "I told you at the end of last year. I said that since you were nearly fifteen school attendance was mantandory..."

"But you didn't say that you were serious!"

"What, you thought I was joking?" Suddenly Seiren's eyes were cold and icy. Her tone was dangerous as she cracked her knuckles and held up one finger nail. It gleamed oddly like a knife. "Sasame, I'll make you attend if necesary."

"Geez, you're so mean!" I yelled. "What kind of sister threatens her siblings?"

"I do," Seiren said coldly. She folded her arms. "There should be a suitcase upstairs. Get packing."

"How the hell do I know what I need?"

"There's a kit list I left on your bed."

With a frustrated sigh, I stormed off upstairs to do as she said.

Seiren and I haven't ever really seen eye to eye on things. We're always arguing (See above) and she always wins. Always with a threat from that trained martial arts body. Whenever I hugged her when we were little you could feel she was all edges and sharp joints and strength. It was as if her entire body was a weapon.

Not only that, but Seiren is that pureblood, Kaname Kuran's servant. I HATE the Kurans. Especially Kaname and that innocent little Yuki Kuran. God, she was so... So... So self obsessed! She was always caught up in her own loneliness and blood thirst and she can't cope, ohh she can't cope... SO annoying!

But Seiren seemingly adored them. She was always at Kaname's side, doing his every bidding. I bet, if it were up to her, she would go and live with them. But, beleive it or not, she was actually considerate of me, and came back to our place.

I opened my bedroom door and slammed it behind it me, making the entire frame reverberate with the impact.

"SASAME." Seiren's voice came from downstairs.

"SHUT UP!" I yelled back. I pulled out my old black case and snapped it open. I studied the kit list. God, did we have to do our own laundry there? The servants did it for us here.

I chucked in a few clothes, couple of outfits I liked, a toothbrush and paste, alongside necessary toiletries (even vampires have...um, a 'time of the month'.), and everything else on the list. I slammed the stupid case shut and kicked it across the room with a vampire strength-propelled kick.

"I see you've finished." Seiren's voice said tonelessly from behind me.

"Go away, Seiren." I hissed, not even bothering to turn around.

"There, all done, go tell Mommy so she'll lie still in her fucking grave!"

Seiren was silent for a few moments. I carried on,

"She and Daddy will be so happy!" I continued sarcastically. "That Sasame's going to school with her her bitchy idiot of an older sister!"

"I have something for you," Seiren interuppted. I whipped around.

"Poison? A kick up the ass? A slit in the throat? A bullet? A hand grenade? Oh goodie, I can't wait."

"Don't be insolent." She snapped. She held up two fingers and flicked them in a downwards movement.

A silencing charm.

It's vampire magic, that Seiren and I actually have quite a bit of. It's not like Harry Potter, before you ask. I glared at her and clenched my jaw.

"Here." Seiren held out a plastic bag, a dress cover. What now? Had she got me a freakin' dress?

I took it and her charm lifted.

"What the hell is it?" I asked.

"Open it." she simply replied. I regarded her strangely. She sighed. "It's your new uniform,"

"Oh, that lined load of crap." I recalled Seiren wearing it. "So I'm really going to this shit school?"

"It is not a shit school," Seiren said quietly. "Kaname-sama and Yuki-sama attend and so do many world-class vampires' offspring."

"And plenty of food." I added, licking my fangs greedily. I laughed at Seiren's expression. "God, I'm kidding, bimbo. Still, what was Cross thinking? Mixing vampires and food-"

"They are not 'food' Sasame," Seiren cut in once again. "Open the bag, try on your uniform. We need to see if it fits."

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes and let my fangs retract slowly. "He's still crazy,"

I unzipped the bag and removed the layers of packaging before finally finding the clothes.

"S-SEIREN, YOU...!"

"What?" Seiren eyed me lazily. I rounded on her, shaking my fist.

"THAT'S A FRICKIN' DAY CLASS UNIFORM!" I exploded. "THE NIGHT CLASS UNIFORM IS WHITE!"

"I need to explain," Seiren continued calmly. "The Headmaster wishes to take this bridging humans and vampires together a step further. Starting this year, one new student will go to the day class instead of the night and live there for their first year. So every year there will be a vampire in the day class. Headmaster Cross trusts you are responsible, and will behave..." At this she fixed me with an icy glare.

"What about blood tablets? Food? Sleep?" I demanded.

"You will, in most forms, learn to be human."

"BITCH! I'm not gonna do it!" I yelled and slapped her across the face. For a moment, my handprint glowed on her face before disappearing in to her pale skin. Seiren closed her eyes for a moment, letting the impact wear off. She was totally still. This was when I realised I should be running. Before I could even turn away, her snowy white hand came flying out towards me, connecting with my jaw so every bone rattled.

My head snapped back. I was angry, seriously angry. I whirled around, my leg in the air to kick her. Seiren caught hold of my foot and threw me down on to the floor. I felt the side of the bed post clank against my head painfully. I winced, trying to get up.

"If you've got any sense, Sasame, you'd stay down. No matter." Seiren said coolly. She swooped down, the side of her hand coming towards my face. I gasped in pain as it slit my cheek like a knife.

"Seiren, you-" I began to growl, cupping the side of my face as if to protect my wound. A fist came at me but I managed to block it and threw a punch of my own at Seiren's stomach. For once, it connected, and she stumbled over backwards.

I cracked my knuckles and smiled wryly.

"More?" I asked in a menacing tone. Seiren looked up and gave a sly grin herself.

"If that's what you want," she muttered. Suddenly she seized the front of my shirt and threw me over her shoulder. I kicked violently only to narrowly miss a punch that would've disformed my face. I was on the floor again and Seiren was standing above me. This gave me an idea. With lightning speed, I reached out and yanked on her ankles, hard, making her fall back. I jumped up with a triumphant, "Ha!"

Seiren got up slowly, glaring all the while.

"Tiger lost her roar?" I asked in a patronizing tone.

And a fist met my face in an explosion of pain.

I blacked out.

...

I fingered the mark on my cheek gently. Even with my super-fast vampire healing there was still a faint scratch on my cheek from that day. I was pretty pissed off with Seiren and went three days without speaking to her.

Now I was in the car, going to Cross Academy. Seiren was sat beside me in her white uniform. I kept glaring at my black one, tugging at the ribbon and the socks. They were so friggin' itchy. Seiren, however just sat there gazing out of the window.

"You do realise I'm going to get expelled," I said to my sister.

Silence.

"I'll probably end up eating a day class girl," I continued.

No reply.

"That Yuki Kuran chick better watch out, too..."

"SASAME." Bingo. Reaction. "In no way are you to harm, attack, or go near Yuki-sama or Kaname-sama." Seiren hissed. She caught hold of my wrist and bared her fangs. "Else I will punish you so severely, and not hesitate to kill you."

"Geez, you love purebloods better than your own kin!" I retorted. "Let go!" I shook her off my wrist.

Seiren returned to staring out of the window while I quietly glared at my boots. God, they were ugly.

"You are not going to get expelled," Seiren said quietly without turning her head away from the window. "And you will not 'eat' any day class girls. You will learn what it takes to be human, Sasame, with only this pack of blood tablets." At this she turned around and deposited the small box in my palm. "Use them wisely. There are only forty tablets in there."

"Whatever," I shrugged off the matter casually. "I'll find prey easily enough."

"Campus is guarded by the disciplinary commitee,"

"A bunch of pathetic humans patrolling campus playing Cops and Robbers? Oh I'm so scared."

Seiren turned back to the window, balancing her chin in her palm before continuing.

"You'll have a room in the Sun Dorms," she said thoughtfully. "and a room mate. Her name is-"

"What?" I exploded. "A room mate?"

Seiren nodded. I rolled my mismatching eyes- one's blue and the other's purple, though I wear a blue contact in the purple one- and slumped in my seat. "What do you think'll happen? I'll get hungry and nibble at her neck! Idiot!"

"You won't," Seiren replied coolly. "I gave you the blood tablets. You won't get hungry."

Uh, yes I will.

"I have a file." Seiren added, reaching down towards her bag and retreiving a clipboard with a paper clipped to the front. She handed it to me. "She is your room mate."

I stared at the photo of the girl's grinning image. She had rustic red hair cropped short like a boy's, and amber, cat-like eyes. She had a wide grin and looked a little hyper. She was wearing a loose yellow camisole and had an ice cream in her hand, with a loose brown beaded necklace around her neck. Frowning, I began to read the file.

Name: Maiko Tusaka

D.O.B: 5th June

There was a heck of a load of other stuff about her. I learnt she was a vegetarian, she hated pink things, she wanted a boyfriend, she had a tendency to over react, and she...uh...hit puberty at the age of thirteen... Actually, there was some pretty disgusting stuff on there. By the time we reached the school gates, I was pretty well-informed about Maiko Tusaka.

"I will leave you here," Seiren said all of a sudden. Gravel crunched under the car's wheels as it rolled to a stop in front of a great white building that was the Moon Dorms. She unclipped her seat belt and picked up her bag. After opening the car door, she looked back at me as if I were some staring child. "Goodbye."

"...Bye." I mumbled, folding my arms and looking away. The door slammed shut and the car hummed to life, the driver directing it towards the main entrance of the school. I glared out of the window, watching as students milled about the premises. They parted like curtains to let the car through. As we approached the first years' meeting point, I grabbed my bag and retreived all of the important paperwork I needed to hand in. My eyes scanned over the paper to see what Seiren had put- she dealt with paperwork, I spent 99% of my time sulking. Mainly about my details and stuff. I rifled through the other bits and saw a paper headed with; 'VAMPIRE HUMAN STUDENT-GUIDELINES FOR PARENT/GUARDIAN'.

I rolled my eyes again, but curiousity prevailed. I examined the text closely. It mainly talked about what to expect and small warnings with rules that I would need to stick to- Seiren had signed these areas; she was technically my guardian. The rest was a heap of crap of the same things being repeated. The last sentence asked for a final signature and permission that the student would attend. Seiren had signed one last time, her name barely readable in tiny, scratchy handwriting, and next to it she had written; 'Sasame can be a difficult person to handle, however if you treat her sharply and be persistent she will obey. She has a good brain; it was about time she was in school; and will be a good addition to Cross Academy. She has a small problem with blood obsession, but if she takes blood tablets regularly untill she becomes accustomed to having human food, then she will be fine.'

I seized a pen from my bag and scribbled, 'Seiren is a bitch and isn't any good as a guardian, and has no right to say what's what with me, who cares if I have a fucking blood obsession, I'm a vampire for Christ's sakes, so treat Seiren like a problem student and expel me before I cause trouble, else I'll destroy your pacifist ideaology you crazy old man,'.

I stared at the black ink before waving my hand over the writing. Slowly, it ebbed away. Cross couldn't see it but it made me feel better to know it was there.

Bored, I peered out of the dark windows. We were going past the Night Class drop-off point. Night Class students, clad in white lined uniforms, were standing around with their parents, looking bored, or sheilding their eyes from the sun, or hiding under parasols, or wandering toward the Moon Dorms. I scowled as I saw Kaname Kuran exit his long, black limo, glance at the grey sky, then extend a hand back into the car. I watched sourly as a hand grasped his and let herself be pulled out of the vecihle. I glared at Yuki Kuran sullenly as she looked around as if she'd never seen this place before. She glanced at the ground and I saw her mouth move as she said something. Kaname pulled her in to a tight embrace from behind, and Yuki gripped his arm tightly in response, still looking reminiscent.

Barf.

I glanced at the other students as the Kurans walked away. A boy with red hair was standing awkwardly next to a ginger haired girl who was talking hurriedly to her parents, who were nodding vigourously. Further away, a girl with long rustic blonde hair was clutching a ginger haired guy's arm, who was standing next to a fair blonde, blue-eyed vampire boy who looked bored. I kinda liked the look of the ginger guy. He was tall, really tall, but hawt. As if he felt my stare, he turned his head towards the car, but I ducked out of sight. I felt guilty checking him out.

The car crunched to a stop and the driver grunted that I would join the rest of the Day Class through the door in front of us. Grudgingly, I opened the car door and winced under the weak sunlight. I grabbed my bag as the driver wound down the window.

"Drop off my other stuff at the Sun Dorms," I instructed, before swaggering over to the door. I opened it and was immediatly barraged by a crowd of over excitable first years.

"Have you seen the Night Class? Have you? They're so hot!"

"No, I haven't! Where are they? Can I see them now? I've got time before Orientation..."

"Kami, you're blind, I swear! They're so hawt...!"

"Ohhhhh! I've forgotten my suitcase! It's at home! Where's the Discipllinary Commitee...?"

I grunted, trying to fight my way through the squealing girls to a chair. A couple stopped short as I plonked down heavily into the small put-up.

"That girl's really pretty..."

"Yeah. She is. I wonder what she's like?"

Pretty? I raised an eyebrow and lifted my mouth in a sneer. Well, I guess I was. I WAS a vampire after all; with my neat, shiny, shoulder length black hair, clipped neatly and brushed to the side in a casual side ponytail. My contact lense matched the glimmering crystal eye perfectly, and my skin was like marble...not to pat myself on the back. Still, they couldn't guess that the 'pretty girl' could lure them into a secluded spot and rip their throats out. I remembered this with a slight smirk of satisfaction.

"Could all new students please take their seats; Orientation will begin shortly. Orientation will begin shortly, please all take your seats," An amplified voice ordered over the loud speaker. There was a shuffling as people scooted around and made a mad dash for their chairs as the lights dimmed a little bit, only the slightest notch. Of course it made no difference for me, considering I could see well in the dimmest of lights, I even found it more comforting than the electronic glare of fake light. I narrowed my eyes as girls and boys shifted around me, anxiously whispering to each other.

There was a tapping on the stage as the Headmaster walked across to his podium, where he tapped his microphone experimentally with two fingers before beginning to speak.

"Welcome," he began. "to Cross Academy. Starting today, you are all students at this wonderful school. Here you will work hard; make something of yourselves; right from your first year all the way through to the third year, whereupon you will graduate..."

I inhaled slowly and exhaled in expasperation as he continued to parrot on and on. The humans were watching with rapt expressions, almost intruiged. I couldn't help but look on in disbeleif. What was wrong with them? They were about to start some crappy school and were actually excited about it? I rolled my eyes as the Day Class presidents stood up for their little speeches.

Suddenly, there was a searing attack of shock racing through my throat that slipped through me, and was gone. I coughed, and went unnoticed, untill the attack returned. It ripped through my throat and I couldn't help but wince.

Dammit.

I needed blood.

Glancing around, I inhaled deeply. I could smell blood, flowing beneath human skin, everywhere in this room...

I fought against leaping up and seizing the nearest student and sinking my fangs into them. Instead, I shoved my hands in my pockets, and something smooth slid against my fingers.

The blood tablets!

I took out the box hurriedly and shook it so two, crisp white tablets tumbled into my palm. Satisfied, I put the box away and tipped my head back and swallowed. They were bitter; granted, but helped, and the sickly urge immediatly began to fade.

"Hey...are you OK?" A girl asked beside me. I glanced at her- she was staring at me worriedly, with big, amber eyes glowing with concern. Somehow she seemed familiar. The girl continued in a hushed whisper. "Those tablets you took...you're supposed to register all medication needed at the main office. Did you?"

I grunted something in reply and she smiled a little timidly.

"I know it's none of my buisness, but..."

"Miss Tusaka, no talking." A teacher from nearby said sharply.

"Oh!" The girl hunched down a little and blushed. "Sorry, Sensei."

I eyed the girl sideways for a while. Tusaka...why did that sound familiar?

"My name's Maiko," She whispered, ignoring the teacher's warning. "Maiko Tusaka. Though you probably guessed my last name."

Maiko Tusaka...?

Then it hit me; this girl was my new room mate. Obviously she didn't know that. She continued to smile at me brightly.

"And you?" She murmured.

What was it to her?

"Sasame Amano." I muttered, barely audible. Maiko's face brightened considerably.

"Sasame..." she breathed. "That's a really beautiful name. Mind you, you're really beautiful too, so there's no surprise there."

She was chatting like we were friends. Horrorfied, I hunched up in my chair and scooted further away from her.

Suddenly, there was a rustling and a sound of excited whispers. I snapped my attention back to the stage- ah. That was why.

Kaname Kuran was walking on stage, looking as...as...dull as ever. Seiren would kill me for thinking that.

"This is Kaname Kuran, president of the Night Class." Cross announced, stepping back from his podium a little as the pureblood approached him. "He wishes to say a few words to the new students."

"Hello, everyone." He purred, as a couple of girls visibly drooled over his appearance. I narrowed my eyes at his mouth and saw that his fangs were visible over his bottom lip. How could no one notice that? "To tell you the truth, the Night Class and Day Class don't meet often...the only current official event in which the two both partcipate, is the ball in the season of summer. But back to the matter at hand; I am just here to greet the new students and hope you have a good time at Cross Academy. Please, though, keep it down during the day near the Moon Dormintories: many of the Night Class students sleep during the day, so we'd appreciate it if you could keep the level of noise down."

At this, he took his leave and walked off the stage.

"Wow," Maiko breathed. "What a beautiful person."

I couldn't disagree more. I could sense her heart pulsing as she stared at the pureblood with rapt eyes. There was a glow there somewhere- a tell-tale glow that she liked him. I felt my jaw tighten in annoyance. It was quite obvious that she was starting a crush. I felt like slapping her and screaming, "Hel-lo? He's a vampire! A pureblood! He'll have you dead in five seconds! Yet all you can think about is a snog?"

I shifted in my seat as the Headmaster began to speak again and Maiko's heart rate calmed.

"Well, we're almost out of time, so I'll take this moment to explain to you what to do after this assembly. The female Sun Dorms President will take all of the girls to the female dormitory. So, if you are female, you will be leaving first. Please assemble outside, and your Dorm president will lead you there. Then she'll tell you your room number and your room mate."

Orientation finished soon after, and there was a scraping of chairs as the girls stood up to follow the female president. I hesitated.

"Hey, Sasano-san? Sasano-san!" Maiko giggled. "Come on, it's time for us girls to go. Not unless you think you're a boy!" She snickered.

I glared at her coldly, before standing up and mooching out of the door.

The weak sunlight was too bright after being in a dimmed room for me, and I found myself squinting and blinking vigourously. I followed the rest of the Day Class females to our dorm, wandering at the back of the crowd.

"I can't beleive I actually got in to Cross Academy," Maiko was saying. "It's so prestigous, and the entrance exam was SOOO hard...I mean, like, who knows what to write about 'a History of Vampires?'-that was our writing assesment, by the way- I was, like, 'I don't know anything about vampires, let alone a history!', but I managed to pull through, kinda, I had to repeat my maths exam..."

She went on, and on and on. Eventually I just stuffed my fingers in my ears, no longer caring what she thought, untill we arrived at the dormitory.

"OK, people. I'm Shiryu Huski, the the female Day Class president, as you heard in Orientation. I'm going to read out your names, your dorm room number, and the floor you're on. Um..." She scanned the clipboard in her hands. "Kami Suraka and Toriska Natu, you're in Room 103, second floor, please make your way there now...um...Saraku Minuyata and Mishki Wentaro, Room 124, third floor..."

I waited at the back of the crowd as Shiryu read out name after name, and pairs at a time dispursed from the crowd and entered the building. Maiko was shifting from one foot to the other, whispering anxiously, "Oooh, I hope I'm with someone I know..."

"Sasame Amano," Shiryu began. I looked up at my name.

"That's you!" Tusaka hissed, as if I couldn't work that out for myself. I already knew that the girl standing next to me was going to be my room mate, so I wasn't tense or anything. I was just annoyed because Maiko was gripping my arm tightly in suspense.

"...and Maiko Tusaka, Room 167, fourth floor..."

Maiko let out a whoop and threw her arms around my neck in celebration.

"WOO!" She yelled. "We're in the same room! Yes!"

I stiffened, horrorfied at the unwanted physical contact, and tried to shake her off.

"I can't wait, I can't wait!" Maiko said, almost skipping to the door of the dorm. "I'm so lucky that I got a room with you, Sasano-san, it'll be great!"

I stormed away from her, really irritated now. The thing in her file saying 'she has a tendency to overreact' wasn't lying... I pushed the door open, just as Maiko hurried past me and pressed the button next to the elevator. I didn't really want anymore annoying conversation from my room mate, so I decided to use the stairs. I mean, it wasn't Maiko's fault she was so...forward, but I was a solitary person, a creature of the night (!), and needed some time by myself. Maiko, however, was too much for me- I would have to speak to Cross about getting a single room. As I began to ascend, Maiko started to speak.

"Sasano-san? You're not using the elevator? It's much quicker, so... Oh!" Her face brightened. "You're getting used to the stairs, aren't you? Just in case the lift breaks!" She giggled. "Heh heh, well, I'll do the same. Don't wanna be lazy, you know!"

"Look...Um...Tusaka-san...I..." I was cut off by Maiko as she stared at me. "What?"

"You've got the most amazing voice." she said in awe. "It's beautiful. Almost..." she gestured wildly. "...musical. That's the only thing I've heard you say since your name."

I frowned. My voice? It was only a voice! I wasn't even singing or anything. And she was commenting on my voice? Of all things? I don't know, I was used to vampires anyway. Maybe our voices were naturally sweet or musical, or generally nice to listen to, to lure our prey.

"Well...thanks," I muttered. She was climbing the stairs with me now, and I couldn't stop that.

"Hey, I got an idea!" Maiko exclaimed. She had stopped on the sixth stair. I gave her a look as if to say, 'We'll never get to our room at this rate!', nevertheless, she continued. "Just for a laugh, race you to the top!"

And she was off like a rocket.

...well, she wasn't that fast, maybe fast for a human, but I was much more quick. I couldn't be bothered and continued to climb normally-untill she started saying the most infuriating things.

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's people taunting me. So I decided to show Maiko her place in a tactful way. I braced myself, waiting untill Maiko was nearly at the top step untill I began to run. The adreniline pumping through my body only added to my speed as I raced ahead of Maiko and down the corridor.

This was when I thanked my vampire speed. And for that split second, I was glad I was in the Day Class. I had people who were so much less superior than me. I stopped just outside of Room 167.

Maiko jogged up to me, panting, clutching her ribs.

"You-are-so-fast!" she breathed heavily. "You'll-win-all-the-races-in-pysical-ed!"

I nodded triumphantly, almost purring in satisfaction to see Maiko was impressed.

"So this is our room?" Maiko straightened up-she sounded doubtful. "My older sister said that the higher the rooms are, the worse the quaility."

"I have an older sister," I said, without really thinking. My room mate's mouth widened in a grin.

"Really? Is she still here? Is she a second year or third year? What's her name?" The questions were fired at me like bullets.

"She's called...Seiren." I said, returning to my usual surly self. "She's in the Night Class."

"Ohh, really?" Maiko sounded intersted- if a little impressed. "How come you're not in the Night Class?"

I glared at her. Well, I should've been in the Night Class, if it weren't for this damn programme I'd been forced into. I bared my teeth in a sickly grin before taking an envelope hung from the doorknob by a length of blue wool.

"What's that?" Maiko asked, peering over my shoulder to examine it. I flipped the envelope over to reveal the words 'Keys, Room 167'. "Ohhh!"

I opened it and shook out two silver keys in my palm. They glinted in the light of the corridor, like tiny mirrors.

"One for you, one for me!" Maiko said brightly, plucking her claimed key from my hand. "Alright, let's check it out!" She inserted the silver object into the lock and jiggled it around untill there was a click. "We're in!"

I stepped in after my room mate to see a fairly large room, with cream wallpaper and deep green curtains. There were two beds; one near the window, one against the wall next to the bathroom. There seemed to be pairs of everything: two desks; two bookcases; two of every flipping thing. Still; it wasn't too bad, it could've been worse. I went over to the bed nearest the window and threw myself down heavily. The matteress was way too hard for my liking- I preferred my old, battered, worn one at home. My cases were at the foot of my bed, as were Maiko's at hers. I noticed she had at least twice as many bags as me with a small sneer.

"This'll be GREAT!" Maiko shrieked, flopping down onto her matteress.

I beg to differ.

...

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit.

I'd never meant for this to happen. Never. Seiren was gonna kill me. After I'd been expelled, received several thousand methods of torture from the Senate and so forth. It was just...

I had been so thirsty that night. For human blood. Maybe it was Maiko's human scent that was driving my insctints crazy, but whatever it was, I was starving.

I retreived the box of blood tablets from my bedside table and swallowed two.

The bitter taste pooled into my mouth as I sank back into the pillows, trying to sleep. At night I was usually awake, during the day I was asleep. That's what Seiren had put me here for. To keep my delinquent side at bay, and teach me to be meek like a human.

I rolled over, but suddenly there was a hacking pain through my throat which wouldn't stop.

I popped in two more tablets.

No more effect.

Tablet after tablet, glass of water after water; nothing changed.

I was too thirsty.

I reached for the tenth or so tablet- but it wasn't there. I sat up abruptly. I delved into the box.

Empty.

Shit.

Suddenly, knowing they weren't there brought on a stab of pain through my head. As if there was a shard of glass twisting in my brain. I sucked in my breath sharply. The dryness in my throat was one thing, but now my stomach had started flipping, and my skull banging. I needed blood. Real blood. Not tablets.

I snuck a glance at Maiko's sleeping figure. I wasn't good, but I certainly wasn't evil. I wouldn't do it.

The shard of glass twisted once more, provoking a small shriek to escape my lips. I hated showing weakness in anyway, and blood was my greatest.

I clutched at handfuls of my hair, pulling at it painfully, and rocked back and forth. Maiko was sleeping, so it was alright for me to be weak and pained then. As long as I was OK during the day, and my usual reserved self, I wouldn't come across as a frail human. I'd be my surly, stubborn vampire self with a back bone of metal.

I retched violently as something that wasn't quite air and wasn't quite water burst in the back of my throat. There were two red glows on the bedsheets...reflecting the colour of my glowing eyes. I seized up, tasting sick running down the back of my throat. This was horrible. The absolute pits. I felt like throwing up every single tablet I had swallowed and the other contents of my stomach. Hell, I felt like _dying. _

Maiko let out a heavy stream of breath through her nose, and my vampire insctints went crazy. I was literally waging a war with myself. It _hurt._

My fangs were pressed against my lower lip, and God did it hurt when they pierced my flesh. A slow stream of crimson blood trickled down my chin, which I lapped up with my tongue quickly.

The feel of warm blood running down my throat, the taste...

That did it.

Before I knew what was going on, I literally flew across the room, seized Maiko by the shoulders and roughly dragged her out of bed. Her golden eyes snapped open as she stiffened her once limp body.

"Sansano-san?" she cried out in alarm. "Sasano-san, what're you-"

But I had already cut her off. My fangs buried themselves, deep, deep into her neck...

She screamed.

You'd scream if your seemingly normal roomate- if a little surly- bit you in the dead of night and began sucking, wouldn't you? So it was perfectly understandable. But I was thirsty. Craving for blood. I felt worse than a Level E.

I clapped my hand over her mouth, swirling her blood around in my mouth, savouring the thick, beautiful warmth...

Nothing felt better than those few moments. Nothing in the world.

The Maiko slumped in my arms and suddenly the sickly urge for blood began to fade. I suddenly came to my senses. Here I was, biting the irritating girl who was my room mate on my first night at school.

I dropped Maiko's still body, gazing in horror at the half-shut eyelids and the slightly open mouth. Her breath was so slow...

She wasn't dead yet, but was slowly slipping away...

...slowly...

...slowly...

After she died, I looked on, horrorfied at what I'd done.

And I can swear to God that the last thing I thought was,

'I'm screwed.'


	6. One Shot for sunnyvampire

"Checkmate."

Sakura Kuremiya's voice rang out clearly in the room of Takuma Ichijo, soon followed by the solid tap of a chess piece on the wooden board.

"Arrghh!" Ichijo's frustrated cry soon followed after. "You're way too good at this!"

Sakura cocked her head to the side and smiled shyly.

"Kaname taught me well then, did he?"

"Unfortunately," he said grimly, setting his lips into a playful pout.

Sakura smiled and cleared the chess pieces off of the board and to the side.

"I've had enough, anyway. It gets tedious after a while."

"You can say that again." Ichijo stretched, yawning loudly, before rubbing at his eyes with his forefinger. "Did you get the sixth volume of Fruits Basket yet?"

"No. I haven't been to town lately." Sakura shook her head. "Though the expenses are piling up. I spent a small fortune on the Bleach series. You influence me way too much, Takuma."

The aristocrat laughed. "Well, it's better than everyone else's reaction when it comes to manga. Did you hear Aido yesterday? He was complaining to Kaname that I lent him too many books! It's only one a week! I'm sure you understand, Sakura-sama?"

"Just Sakura," Sakura replied dreamily, leaning back in her chair to view the gardens out of the window.

Sakura Kuremiya, the demure, reserved, vampire, was a pureblood. The only female one in the Night Class. The only male one being Kaname Kuran.

"Well, if you're fussed about costs I'll lend you it if you want." Ichijo offered, standing up and going over to one of the bookshelves in the room. This particular one was stocked with the manga series 'Fruits Basket', volumes one to twenty stacked neatly in order, alongside various other Fruits Basket merchandise.

"Here," he said, tossing the volume marked 'six' in purple font onto the table. "Have it, I've got it memorised."

Sakura giggled quietly and slipped the manga in her bag, alongsiden various other bits and pieces.

"Do you mind if I stay a little longer?" she inquired, pulling out a hard backed notebook and a fountain pen. "I like it here; it's inspiring."

"Sure," Ichijo grinned as the pureblood girl opened the notebook and began to string together the words of a poem, half formed sentences whirling in her mind as he went to re-read some other manga.

Sakura felt at peace with her poetry. Through literature and rhymes, she found a new self. Not the fake Kuremiya Princess she had been moulded to be. She found the soulful, mysterious Sakura, the elusive Sakura, the rebel Sakura, the happy, carefree Sakura and the Sakura that was as pure as the cherry blossom she was named after.

Through these two years she had been at Cross Academy, after every pain and suffering she had endured from her life- such as those creepist fan boys, her truckload of pureblood worries, her parents' constant interference- she sought refuge in the world of words and music.

The early morning sun dappled the pages of Sakura's notebook. It was the Academy's weekend, and during these free days she would spend them waking up to sunlight and sleeping at night unlike most Night Class students.

Sakura smiled as she snapped the cap back onto her pen. Her poem was finished.

_A world, of Darkness_

_Life decided, pain taken_

_Seeks love, comfort_

_Takes refuge, hiding_

_Between pages_

_Love illuminates, opens doors_

_It's there, close_

_Can almost taste it_

_With two, one or_

_the other._

Recently, Sakura's poems had been revolving around her life and always ending with the 'two'. When she first had started doing this unconciously, she hadn't understood.

She knew, that tucked elsewhere in the back of her mind, that she understood. But she didn't want to know. She didn't let herself remember why.

There was a sharp slap as Sakura shut her notebook abruptly. Takuma looked up, vaguely.

"Sakura-sam- I mean, Sakura-san?"

"Sorry," Sakura smiled a little, regaining her cool composure.

"I...think I'll go now. Thank you for the manga." And with that she exited the room, walking at a much brisker pace than usual.

After dropping her things off at her room, she seized her notebook again before hurrying upstairs to the attic.

One of her few places of solace; the attic was narrowed as the building formed a point at the top. It had a comforting musty smell, of age and wear, and sunlight filtered in through chinks in the wood. A couple of planks of wood had fallen out of their place in the attic wall, leaving a wide ledge that if one so desired could leap out of.

But Sakura liked it here because she was left alone, and could work in solitude.

Now, as she nestled in her corner, she opened her notebook at the first page where she had begun poetry composing. She flisked through, trying to find her first poem ending with 'two'. It was a haiku, simple, short, easily forgettable.

_Love, it does stir_

_Between me, I_

_And those two_

The next poem was more free, more relaxed:

_Two hands, held by two people_

_One or the other._

_She is told to choose._

_It is hard, wistful, she stares at one_

_Dreamily, turns her gaze to the other_

_Cannot be devoted to two_

Several poems rhymed, others were a blurred mix of feelings. Sakura felt her heart stop. She wanted to know now. She wanted to know what caused these poems to be written like this.

Who were the 'two'? Her and someone else?

She needed to awaken the reason she hid at the back of her mind.

Sakura closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her body. Slowly, she let all of her senses fail her on the outside, as she slowly hid inside herself, trying to find the answer.

A cold wisp of air snaked its way into Sakura's body. She blinked heself back to her senses, regaining life and movement. It was dark in the attic now.

Letting the fugginess wear off, she sighed. No answer at all.

Everytime she reached out, tried to grasp the answer it slipped away, hid from her again. She had been so intent on finding the soloution that twilight had fallen without her knowing.

Supressing tears of frustration that were imbedded in her heart- she was very good at hiding her emotions- she went over to the huge gaping hole in the wall, and peered out.

The sky was streaked with deep purple and midnight blue, with a few stars glittering faintly. She inhaled slowly, letting the crisp evening air fill her lungs with its cool touch like ice.

A footstep resounded nearby, then several. Two, two pairs.

Two.

The two.

Sakura's eyes snapped open just in time to see Zero Kiryu and Kaname Kuran cross paths. For a moment, her fucshia orbs widened in confusion. Why would Kaname and Zero be out here so late?

Slowly things clicked into place as her foggy, just-woken-up mind began to work. Zero was obviously on patrol. Kaname must've been to see the Headmaster. He did that pretty often.

As the two walked past each other, Kaname began to speak. Sakura honed in her pureblood senses to listen to their conversation.

"Kiryu," the pureblood began.

"Kuran." was the curt response.

"I just wanted to tell you- about Yuki- you can have her."

Sakura furrowed her brow. Yuki? The Yuki that had been transfomed into a human to protect her from Rido? But she meant the world to Kaname! Why was he giving her up so easily?

"What?" Zero spat. "What the hell do you mean, Kuran?"

"I mean exactly what I say." Kaname replied smoothly. "I have...other plans for the future."

Sakura frowned even deeper, digging her nails into the wood next to her.

What plans did he have exactly?

Zero glared even harder at Kaname. Nevertheless, the pureblood simply chuckled and glided past him. There was a breif moment when their shoulders connected in an accidental bump; nothing more, but something inside Sakura's mind sparked.

Kaname.

Zero.

The two. Those two.

Suddenly the reason why those poems she had been churning out included 'the two', why her choice of wording was so...soulful.

She understood.

She was in love.

With Kaname it was an understandable love: he was a pureblood king, the most handsome, eligible man there was in existence. Perhaps these feelings stirring inside of Sakura weren't 'love', maybe just a simple crush. That was probably it. Alot of vampire girls crushed on him- you just needed to look at Ruka Souen to see that.

But, Sakura did stand a chance in the society's eye. She was a pureblood, and Kaname had just said that he'd give away Yuki.

As for Zero...

This was harder. Sakura really felt for the boy when she heard of his story. After his ordeal, the least she could do was to be friendly. But he gave her the cold shoulder, those hateful glares, that look in his eyes: pure destest, merciless.

At first, after their first and only official meeting when Sakura was sixteen- a year after she started attending Academy- she was insulted by the lack of respect he gave her for what she was- but then again, being a pureblood meant nothing to Sakura. She was a princess, an unwilling princess at that. And she hated it. In no way was she happy with her life- so in a way, she could relate to the unruly delinquent character that was Zero.

Over time, Sakura found it an interesting past time to watch Zero at his school life, or on patrol when he was...unaware. She found it cute how he awkwardly hid himself inside his body. And, gradually, her emotions of pity, interest and relation, piled up to form a huge mountain of what could only be described as love.

Sakura rocked back onto her heels, burying her chin in her arms. She had finally understood her emotions. They were her Sun and Moon. Polar oposites. Yin and Yan. Fire and Water. Two completely different things, but just as vital as one another.

Because without them, her life would crumble away.

Footsteps resounded from behind her. Sakura jolted violently and spun around just in time to see Kaname Kuran to step out of the shadows of the attic.

She gave him a small reserved smile.

"Kaname."

"Sakura." His tone was as smooth as silk, almost musical in the way he spoke. It was nice. "How are you?"

"Exactly the same since I awoke," she replied, turning back to the world outside. Her candyfloss pink hair fluttered in the breeze, thin tendrils escaping her long school-specified plait hung over her shoulder and carressing her face gently.

"I see." Sakura narrowed her eyes a fraction of an inch, closing off her mind to Kaname's mind reading fingers that were already attemping to probe her mind. It was something only purebloods could do- prevent people reading their minds- but it still took years of practice to maintain a steady blockage to perfection. It wouldn't do to let Kaname get the satisfaction of knowing her thoughts. Especially not tonight.

"Can I help you in any way, Kaname?" Sakura asked, turning back around to the pureblood standing behind her. He, most uncharacteristically had his thumbs tucked into his pockets, and was gazing off into the endless inky expanse that was the evening sky.

He was quiet for a while before speaking, "It's a nice night. Would you care to join me for a walk through the orchads? It would seem lonesome going by myself."

Sakura tipped her head back, considering. She had nothing better to do. And as long as she kept up her mental barrier everything would be fine. A small, eloquent smile pricked the corners of her pale carnation-coloured lips.

"Of course, Kaname-sama." She added the honorfice on as a joke, making the pureblood chuckle in response. He extended his hand to her and courteously led the princess down the stairs.

Outside, the air was cool and refreshing, almost like dry ice. Cool, but not wet. The pair strolled alongside the Moon Dorms untill they reached the yard, where there was the cherry blossom orchard, right in full bloom.

Just as they entered the gathering of trees, Kaname plucked a single bloom off one of the lower branches and tucked it fondly behind Sakura's ear. It's pale complexion matched perfectly with the shade of her light pink tresses.

"A sakura, cherry blossom. Just like your namesake." he said, smiling at his actions.

Sakura touched the bloom gently with her forefinger, restraining the blush that was desperate to colour her cheeks, "Thank you. Kaname translates to 'door', right?" Her face broke out into a mocking smile. "I'll get you a specially painted door, then."

Kaname chuckled again- a rich sound that vibrated in his throat. Sakura liked his chuckles- scratch that. She liked his voice. Reassuring, deep...if a little sinister. She was...allured by it.

Sakura paused by a rather weak sapling, only sporting a few withering blossoms and puny, futile branches. She ran her hand over the bark ofn the trunk, "Let's stop here."

Kaname just gave her another lax smile, sitting down in the grass next to the half-dead tree.

Sakura gripped one of the branches tightly, feeling its warm sap flowing through her veins, its energy mingling with hers...it was so weak...she decided to give it a chance. A chance.

Like her parents had never given her one.

Winding her fingers around the wood, she began to lend her life energy to it. Immediatly, the sick sapling began to grow, its trunk thickening,more blossoms beginning to bloom over it. Soon it was a proud, majestic, fully-grown sakura tree.

Smiling in mild triumph, she sank against the trunk next to Kaname. It was only then she noticed she still had her notebook in her hand. She relaxed her grip on it, and it fluttered open to a page covered in rhyming words- some crossed out, others underlined in an organised list for her to use in her latest piece.

"You're with that notebook often," Kaname quietly observed. "May I ask what you write in it?"

"Poetry."

"Poetry..." his tone was soft, calm, quiet. "Would I be permitted to read an extract?"

"Of course." Sakura passed the hard covered journal to him before tipping her head back to view the night sky. Stars glittered high above, and Sakura amused herself by finding the constellations whilist Kaname read, the occansioal flip of a page being the only indication he was still there.

"Sakura," Kaname spoke. "Do you remember the day we first met?"

Sakura blinked, caught off guard at this question. "Yes. Why?"

Kaname still had her notebook in his lap, but his eyes weren't on the paper. They were searching the skies. "You were seven years old...and one of the first children I had ever met. I could tell you were thinking the same thing- the indication was clear...you wanted...to play with me."

Sakura bit her lower lip, almost allowing crimson heat to flush her face. The way Kaname said it...he made the childish instcint sound dirty and suggestive.

"I was like you," Sakura retorted defensively. "Never met another pureblood child before. Never had a chance to be a child. And so is the fate for pureblooded children- never given the chance to be a child, to play, to have fun..." Sakura found herself clenching her fists at this. She was angry- downright angry that her parents never let her be a child. No, Hanatan and Kenshin Kuremiya wanted their daughter to be a pureblood princess right from the start. The type who was horrified to get dirty, or play in playgrounds. She was angry that her childhood had been taken before she even owned it- instead, she had grown up as a pureblood, not a kid with rights of her own.

The pair were silent for a long time, before Kaname began the conversation again, "Have you ever thought about the future?"

"Countless times." Sakura said dryly.

"I expect your parents have arranged a marriage for you."

"Needless to say. Not one I know of, but most likely. It'll probably be announced on my eighteenth birthday."

"Ah."

Sakura dragged her hand on circles over the cool grass, letting the frozen blades ice her skin before continuing.

"I expect you and Yuki will be...wed." she said slowly, feeling her heart sink. She had kept her mental wall up and impossible to penetrate, but that didn't change the fact she could still see into her mind. The unorganized emotions in her head about where her heart lay were threatened to be shattered when Kaname mentioned whether her parents had arranged a wedding for her- this just proved she could love whoever she wanted, but couldn't have them. Another rope added to the continuous bind of being a pureblood.

But didn't Kaname say- to Zero- that...

"When we first met..." Kaname made the statement sound like a question. "You were open to the future, ready to take on new challenges whatever the personal costs. I could see that. Then when we met again when you came to attend this academy, I saw you were disappointed your life had been decided. You had lost your...open way of thinking."

"I know my life has been decided," Sakura hugged her knees to herself. "and I was a fool to think otherwise. I've had to learn to accept that."

"Accept..." Kaname trailed off. "Sakura, that day we met...do you remember when your mother told you to go wait upstairs for them before you left?"

"Yes."

"Haven't you ever wondered what the conversation turned to after you left?"

"I assumed it was grand farewells before your parents passed away."

"Hm. Well, Sakura, you see...you know about Yuki, don't you? How she's become...human."

Sakura nodded. "I've known ever since I saw you alone, without Yuki at Soirees. I guessed."

"I don't expect you know what was going to happen." Kaname let out a soft sigh, closing the notebook on his lap.

"What?" Sakura prompted. "What do you mean?"

"Yuki...when Juri performed the spell to turn Yuki into a human...it was unlikely that she would live. There was the very real possibility she would die during the transformation."

"I...I see." Sakura frowned. "But what are you getting at?"

"My point is," Kaname turned around to face her. "Yuki was supposed to die. So other...plans were laid for my future, without Yuki." He handed her the notebook back, the essence of a smile on his face. "You are a talented poetess. There are some very touching poems in there."

"T-thanks." Sakura took her notebook, her mind whirling. Yuki Kuran...now Yuki Cross...had been expected to die? Because she wa such a frail little pureblood? Or because she was so young? Why...?

"The 'two'." Kaname shocked her out of her thoughts with these words.

"You know who these are, don't you?"

There was no point in lying now. Slowly, she nodded, an unknown emotion curdling in her stomach.

"One is me. The other...it's Zero Kiryu, isn't it, Miss Kuremiya?"

The use of 'Miss Kuremiya' made her feel as if she was being reprimanded by a teacher in class. Only this seemed worse.

"Sakura; I know you have feelings for Kiryu. But you can't have him or make him yours."

"Why not?" Sakura noted the treble in her voice, the pathetic high tone it had reached. She silently cursed herself before Kaname slipped his surprisingly warm hands over hers.

"Because you are engaged...to me."

That did it. Walls crushed in on her, weights dropping down on her lungs like stones. Kaname. Her fiance.

And the first thing that ran through her head was:

Eep.

Kaname! Of the few purebloods remaining, the king was going to be her husband.

What. The. Fu-

"Why wasn't I told before?" Sakura suddenly demanded. "It's been...just over ten years since this was arranged. Why wasn't I told when it was decided? Why didn't I have any say? Why didn't..."

Abruptly she noticed there were tears running down her face, salty beads dropping: one after another. She cursed herself for crying- only the weak were supposed to cry. She was a pureblood- she was supposed to be strong, to never show weakness of any sort...and yet here she sat, tears rolling across her face with no abandon.

Kaname used his forefinger to wipe away some of the gathered tears on his fiance's face, using his other hand to prop her chin up.

"I wanted to tell you." he said quietly. "And so did Juri and Haruka, but your parents were argumentative. They thought it was wrong that you should know, since you've never been keen on your life as a pureblood-"

Understatment.

"-and personally, I think it was wrong you were kept in the dark so long, but...I couldn't bring myself to tell you. I don't know why. Maybe because Yuki has become so attentive lately, I've had to keep an eye on her, but nevertheless..." One of the fingers stroked her chin gently. "Sakura, I love you."

Sakura sniffed, willing her tears to disappear so she could enjoy this happy moment.

Because beleive it or not, she was enjoying it.

Now Sakura was never one for forward actions- she preferred to keep herself to herself- something she had inherited from her father, Kenshin- but that didn't stop her now from throwing her arms around Kaname's neck and crushing her lips to his.

For a long while they were lost in each other's embraces, entranced by the other's kissing techinique.

All of Sakura's indefinite feelings for Zero were swept away. She had known in the back of her mind that she couldn't have Zero, she just didn't want to accept it. All of the emotions mixed together that had been mistaken for 'love' were nothing more than her caring side for Zero, that was all.

Kaname knew that Sakura had loved him all along. This girl who he held in his arms now, who's curves he fingered with hungry fingers, she still reminded him of that innocent seven year old pureblood girl dressed in ridiculous lilac frou-frou on the first day they met. That was when the relationship began. He had seen all of the wistful glances she sent his way, just never acknowledged them. But he was glad that he had told her that evening.

Cherry blossoms fluttered past the two lovers, falling off of their trees, blurring past like snow.

When they broke apart, Sakura seized her notebook and began to write. Not a poem this time. No, no longer did she need the refuge of literature to hide in. This time she was writing something else, something that needed writing right away.

After all, she had a wedding to plan. ;)

* * *

><p><strong>AN : I just had to add the little winking face in! XD **

**Anyway, I kinda rushed the last part, because I was writing it at two this morning...if you don't like it, sunnyvampire, I'll do it again...  
><strong>

**The next one'll be for W-Rabbit.  
><strong>


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